the tornado in joplin was the single...

The tornado in Joplin was the single deadliest

tornado since modern record keeping began in

1950, and ranked eighth among the deadliest

tornadoes in US history according to NOAA.

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Brookside Community Safe Room, Brookside, AL: 33.629231,-86.906795

HMGP Funded Safe Room (Did not show up in the Data Warehouse information)

Team 1

This community safe room was located under the Brookside Fire Department in

Brookside, AL. The entrance structures (there were two) were constructed of reinforced

CMU block with a concrete roof deck. The below grade safe room was constructed with

reinforced concrete floors and walls with a pre-stressed concrete slab roof (topped with a

concrete slab). The shelter was not within the impacted area of any area tornados, but

residents from as far as 8 miles away sought shelter at this community safe room. It is

estimated that 150 people were inside the safe room during the time of the storms.

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Amory community shelter located in Amory, Mississippi (10 miles from Smithville).

Amory is a small town in Monroe county with a population of approximately 8000

residents and encompasses 8 square miles. There is a single sign as you drove

into the shelters. Shelter is located adjacent to a community center and a

baseball field. Safe rooms were “full of people”, according to a local resident and

eyewitness, but additional people arrived but didn’t want to risk falling debris so

sheltered in adjacent community center. Shelter not a HMPG (or not on the list).

Community safe room located outside of Smithville, MS

Safe rooms were “full of people” at time of tornado

No direct damage to adjacent community center

Two identical shelters adjacent to each other

Each shelter: 13’ (L) x 13’ (W) x 7.5’ (H)

7.5” concrete walls

Steel doors – 1 ¾” thick

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Brookwood, AL: 33.251490, -87.329370

This community shelter was located in Brookwood, AL and was not in the direct path of

any tornados. The shelter was constructed by SAFE T SHELTERS and was a pre-

fabricated structure. The structure was constructed of a steel hull, steel doors, steel bolt

locks, and steel reinforcing. Additional details were not available at the time of the visit.

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Phil Campbell, AL

A single “tube” version of this safe room was observed in Phil Campbell. There were 60

people in the shelter during the April 27th storm, which passed through several residential

neighborhoods in Phil Campbell, causing several fatalities in the town of approximately

2,000 residents. The ties on the roof of the shelter are temporary guys connected to a

communications tower that was erected to replace the original tower which had been

knocked down during the storm.

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Joplin, MO

Although not a public shelter or designated community tornado refuge area, a

Walmart store in Joplin, MO, has a disaster plan that provides guidance on where

to take refuge during a tornado. Over 200 people sought refuge inside the store

during the May 22, 2011 tornado. The center line of the ELF tornado track that

devastated Joplin was located just a few hundred feet from the building.

Employees gathered everyone inside the store in break rooms, rest rooms, and in

the customer service desk area near the back of the store. Part of the store’s

tornado refuge area was constructed of reinforced CMU walls. Once the tornado

struck, the front doors and roof were torn away from the building and part of the

roof structure collapsed. There were three fatalities inside the store. The fatalities

occurred near the center of the store, away from the reinforced exterior walls of

the store.

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Joplin, MO

The Home Depot in Joplin, MO, was struck by a direct hit from a very intense

tornado on May 22, 2011. The NWS rated this portion of the tornado track as EF4

to EF5. Individuals in the area who heard the tornado warning attempted to seek

refuge at this store. The roof of the store was torn off and the building’s massive

concrete tilt-up panels collapsed, resulting in seven fatalities in different locations

in the store.

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Joplin, MO

In accordance with the emergency plan, all shoppers and employees in the store

were gathered in the employee lounge and training area at the back of the store.

The MAT was unable to determine if this area was designated as a best available

refuge area for use during tornadoes by a design professional or if a formal

assessment of the tornado refuge area was conducted. The 28 people who took

refuge in the training room survived the storm.

The area of the store where employees and shoppers congregated was

constructed of metal stud framing and dry wall. This area was not a hardened

structure and could have potentially been crushed had the tilt-up panels fallen on

top of the room. The photo shows a picture of the remaining structure around the

training area. The wall composed of metal studs and drywall can be seen leaning

inward (yellow arrow). The photograph also shows the tilt-up panels that

collapsed outward beside this area (red arrow).

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Smithville is a town in Monroe County, Mississippi, with a population of

approximately 900. The town encompasses 1.6 square miles and has 400

homes. According to NOAA, an ELF struck Smithville on April 27th. This particular

residential safe room is in an area that was completely destroyed by the April 27th

tornado. It appeared to be a residential area of more than twenty single family

homes, none of which remained standing at the time of the survey. The MAT

team spoke to a Smithville resident, not one that was in this particular safe room,

to gain knowledge of this safe room. He said that 6 people took refuge in the safe

room. The residents had to physically hold the door shut because they felt their

“skin being blown off.” All people in the safe room survived. It is believed that

there were multiple deaths in the adjacent residential development. Fourteen

people are confirmed dead in Smithville and 40 injured.

Not a HMPG safe room (or not on the list).

Underground residential safe room

10’ diameter, 80” ceiling height

Safe room constructed of concrete. Wood doors with a steel overlay.

Housed 10 residents at time of tornado from adjacent homes

Residential neighborhood destroyed by tornado, all residents in safe room

survived

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FEMA 320 Storm Shelter: Very clean installation that matches style of house

• FEMA 320 prescriptive storm shelter installed in right corner of porch

• Above ground style chosen for access due to physical needs – there was a wheel chair

ramp on porch for access to back yard

• Shelter was occupied during several of the last storms

• Shelter was won as part of a raffle for 20 of these a few years ago

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FEMA 320 Storm Shelter: Very clean installation that matches style of house

• FEMA 320 prescriptive storm shelter installed in right corner of porch

• Above ground style chosen for access due to physical needs – there was a wheel chair

ramp on porch for access to back yard

• Shelter was occupied during several of the last storms

• Shelter was won as part of a raffle for 20 of these a few years ago

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Residential area on left, St John’s Hospital campus on right

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First slide is general area showing damage

Second is close up of destroyed home

Third is safe room that meets FEMA criteria

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Crescent Ridge, Tuscaloosa, AL

This safe room was located in Tuscaloosa, AL, just north of the major tornado tract that

passed through Tuscaloosa. This safe room was funded through the HMGP. The safe

room was constructed of a pre-cast concrete structure, which was set into the ground

partially buried. The lid of the structure was also reinforced concrete, with a steel hatch

and locking system. The safe room was used during the storm and the hatch was blocked

by a fallen tree during the storm. Neighbors cut the tree to unblock the safe room.

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Joplin, MO

Amidst the massive destruction of the violent tornado that struck Joplin, MO, on

May 22, 2011 the MAT discovered the safe room shown in the photos. A family of

two walked out of their safe room, only to find their home and their neighborhood

totally destroyed. The safe room was anchored to the concrete slab where the

garage once stood. The safe room door was locked with multiple locking points

and used four hinges. This shelter design was tested at TTU. Installed with no

FEMA or Federal funding assistance, the safe room effectively protected the

occupants during the historic May 22, 2011 Joplin EF4 tornado event.

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Athens, AL

The MAT observed another example of an above-ground “shelter” in Athens, AL.

A family survived the tornado in a hardened room they had constructed in a shop

building east of their home. The hardened room (approximately 8 feet tall, and 6

feet by 9 feet in plan) was constructed with a reinforced CMU wall structure and

concrete roof deck. The shop building was totally destroyed by the NWS-rated

EF3 tornado, as was most of their home. The design of the structure was

consistent with the FEMA 320 guidelines with the exception of the door assembly.

The door and latching mechanism was not a tested assembly and had only one

deadbolt; at the time of this publication, no door latch configuration with one bolt

has passed the ICC 500 or the FEMA 361 debris impacting testing criteria.

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Smithsville, MS

A husband and wife took shelter is their above-ground concrete shelter in

Smithville, MS, shown in in the photo. Although the small town of Smithville was

devastated by a tornado that reached EF4 intensity in places along its track, this

home was on the periphery of the vortex and suffered little damage. The clam-

shell concrete structure was anchored to the ground with steel bands and earth

anchors. Although the concrete walls were sufficiently thick at 6½ inches, the door

system was untested, and the locking system could open when impacted by

debris or subjected to high wind pressures. The door locking mechanism use

three points of connection on the non-hinge side of the door (as suggested in

FEMA 320), however, the three individual mechanisms used to keep the door in

the closed position were not identified as having been tested to the FEMA or ICC

debris impact resistance criteria. Because these latching mechanism were light

weight and the door did not appear to be reinforced around the latch points the

door is vulnerable to being forced open from wind or windborne debris. Further,

this structure did not appear to be anchored to resist wind loads (other than the

grounding force resulting from its dead weight).

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Birmingham, AL

A hardened porch slab over this basement helped create a tornado refuge area

that allowed this family to survive the tornado.

It is important to note, however, that not all basement areas should be considered

“safe” during a tornado just because they are below ground. A few doors down

from the home shown in the photo, a fatality occurred when the residents sought

shelter in the basement and the concrete floor above collapsed into the basement

space.

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Smithville, MS

Although constructed of a hardened concrete shell, the “shelter” shown was

protected by plywood doors clad with light steel, a single point locking system,

and a vent system that was vulnerable to impacts. It is unknown how many

occupants using this structure survived, but the adjacent home was destroyed

when the tornado passed over Smithville, MS. Although the Smithville tornado

was rated higher at different locations along the track, it was rated as an EF2 by

the MAT at this location.

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Findings and recommendations regarding code requirements

NOTE that these are preliminary as the MAT has not been published .

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Findings and recommendations regarding code requirements

NOTE that these are preliminary as the MAT has not been published

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General findings and recommendations

NOTE that these are preliminary as the MAT has not yet been published

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