More volatile weather sparks new Michigan trend: tornado safe rooms

Michigan recently announced a rebate program for homeowners who build tornado safe rooms
Many houses in Michigan are not constructed to withstand intense winds
Demand for tornado safe rooms in Michigan has grown since a deadly tornado hit earlier this year

In the 24 years since he founded Linden-based Patriot Builders, Charles Schultz has fielded countless demands for custom features on the homes he builds. But this spring he received a new one:

Two families requested tornado safe rooms.

The requests for the FEMA-compliant shelters built to keep occupants safe in even the most severe tornadoes came after a deadly tornado touched down in Michigan on March 6, killing four people.

Now, Michigan is offering rebates to residents who include tornado safe rooms in their new construction. It’s a small program that offers a glimpse of growing concern among experts about how climate change is making Michigan storms more volatile and violent.

Tornado safe rooms are the equivalent of family-sized vaults — they may be prefabricated steel structures built by companies like Survive-A-Storm Shelters, or built of cinder blocks. Their interiors tend to be primitive, often only outfitted with benches. They come in multiple sizes and can be installed above or below ground.

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Since the deadly EF-3 tornado that touched down in Michigan on March 6, Schultz has been contacted by several homeowners who are interested in tornado safe rooms.

That’s a good trend, Schultz said. He has long pushed for including the shelters in homes, because even rooms considered “safe” may not hold up against a severe tornado.

“Your basement isn’t a safe place, that’s a fact,” said Schultz. “It’s the safest place to be in that particular style of structure. It’s not a safe place to be.”

Schultz has worked on around 400 homes in Michigan throughout his career, and said he doubts the majority of them would hold up to a tornado.

“They’re held down very lightly,” he said.

To incentivize greater tornado preparedness across the state, Michigan announced a program last week incentivizing homeowners to install tornado safe rooms.

The program, which is run by the Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division, would reimburse up to 75% of the cost of building a safe room that complies with Federal Emergency Management Agency standards. Fifty homeowners statewide will be selected for a rebate upon filling out an online application, with 100 alternates. The application deadline is June 15. Structures built prior to approval are not eligible for reimbursement.

The funding for the reimbursement program will come from FEMA if Michigan is among the states approved for money from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program. If Michigan’s application is denied, homeowners will not be reimbursed.

“By supporting pre-disaster and hazard mitigation projects,” FEMA said in a statement, the federal program “aims to save lives, protect property, and reduce the cost of future disaster response and recovery.”

Over 500 people have already filled out applications for the state’s rebate program. Applicants will be selected based on the level of tornado risk in their area.

handout photo of workers at a steel tornado safety room. — Tornado safe rooms are a way to stay safe in a house that isn’t constructed to withstand tornadoes. Many homeowners add them to their garages. (Courtesy of Survive-A-Storm Shelters)

“A properly constructed tornado safe room can provide critical life-saving protection during severe weather events,” said Kevin Sweeney, deputy state director of emergency management, in a statement.

Michigan is experiencing more severe weather, with “a high chance of seeing more tornadoes and possibly bigger tornadoes,” said Lisa DeChano-Cook, a professor at Western Michigan University’s school of environment, geography and sustainability.

For instance, the tornado that hit southwest Michigan occurred in March. Never in the state’s history had Michigan been hit by such a violent tornado so early in the year, according to the National Weather Service.

While the lowest sticker prices of these prefabricated structures can be under $5,000, with transportation and installation, their overall cost is rarely below $10,000. Although some above-ground structures can be installed in garages, they require FEMA-compliant concrete pads, which can add thousands to the price tag.

Michigan’s rebate program aims to strengthen the state’s tornado preparedness, but it’s unlikely to be utilized by the state’s most vulnerable residents.

Residents of mobile homes are about 20 times more likely to be killed in a tornado. Michigan has more than 140,000 mobile homes, yet there are no state regulations on what types of tornado safety measures Michigan’s roughly 1,200 mobile home parks must provide their residents.

And, while incentivizing homeowners to build safe rooms will protect individual families, investing in infrastructure like improved tornado sirens would alert everyone within earshot of tornadoes, said DeChano-Cook.

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