Spring storms can bring disaster

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Members of the Nevada Lions Club tour a University of Missouri traveling safe room, used to illlustrate how safe rooms are contructed and stocked. --Steve Moyer/Daily Mail

Spring, when a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of love -- and tornadoes wreak havoc across the Midwest. In order to help residents understand how to protect themselves during severe weather the University of Missouri Extension Service has a traveling safe room that shows how to build, and stock, a safe room.

Safe rooms are constructed to withstand the maximum winds encountered during a tornado, 250 mph. Safe rooms can be constructed in new construction, within existing buildings or as stand-alone structures. More and more home builders are including them as a matter of course in new construction and they are popular add-ons to existing houses.

While old-timers may remember the Vernon County Courthouse as a place to go for safety during a storm, it no longer is and hasn't been for some time. According to Presiding Commissioner Bonnie McCord the courthouse hasn't been used as a shelter for many years.

"It has not been used as such the 17 years I've been here," McCord said.

The city of Nevada has no storm shelters, either.

"Right now the city doesn't have any storm shelters," Randi Marti, administrative services director, said. "Right now none of the city's properties are designated that way."

At one time the water plant was used as a storm shelter but that stopped when it was realized how dangerous it could be Police Chief Gary Herstein said.

"We used to use the water plant for a shelter but we don't anymore, there is a chlorine pipe 40 feet from where the people were staying," Herstein said. "If that pipe started leaking that chlorine would have gone right toward them, and it's extremely dangerous, so we stopped that."

The Nevada Community Center is designated as a shelter, but only for people who are forced from their homes because of power outages or other emergency.

"The community center is a warming station, it really isn't a storm shelter," Marti said.

Both Vernon County Emergency Coordinator Dennis Kimrey and Herstein say that the best option is called "Shelter in Place." Find the safest area in the building you are in and go there, protecting yourself with whatever you can, items such as mattresses.

"We're big, big believers in 'Shelter in Place,'" Kimrey said. "Get in the center of your house, in a closet if possible and protect yourself. Driving around in a storm situation is very dangerous, you're more likely to get hurt that way than staying put."

Herstein concurred.

"That's pretty much the current thinking," Herstein said. "The recent storm we had a few weeks ago built up so fast over Nevada that we barely had time to activate the sirens before they canceled it."

Speaking of the storm sirens, Herstein had some comments about citizens' reactions to hearing them.

"I'd ask people to stop calling with questions when the sirens go off," Herstein said. "We don't have enough trunk lines or dispatchers to handle all the calls that come in. If it isn't an emergency and you just have questions you should turn on the weather radio and listen to it, that's the best way to get information. A weather radio is the best investment you can make."

Herstein said that when people make unnecessary calls to the dispatchers after the sirens sound, it can delay a response to a true emergency.

"When someone calls in with a question and it's not an emergency we don't have time to give out a lot of information," Herstein said. "We just tell them something quick and hang up. We can't spend a lot of time on each call."

Safe rooms can be constructed of concrete, reinforced masonry, a wood frame with plywood and steel sheathing, or a wood frame with concrete masonry. The doors should be 14-gauge or 20-gauge steel with three hinges and equipped with three deadbolts to keep them from flying open. The doors should open inward so that debris piling against the outside can't prevent the door from opening.

Pat Miller, agronomy specialist and county program director for the University of Missouri Extension Service, spoke to the Nevada Lions Club Tuesday on storm safety. Miller said the extension service has resources available to inform Vernon Countians about the rooms.

"I'm not going to put on a long program," Miller said. "I'll give you some information then you can go out to the trailer and see for yourselves the safe room."

Having a safe room is only part of the solution, you also have to stock the room with supplies to last several days.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, has a list of suggested items: An adequate supply of water for each person in your home or small business (1 gallon per person per day), non-perishable foods that do not have to be prepared or cooked (if these include canned goods, remember to bring a manual can opener), disposable eating utensils, plates, cups, paper towels, etc., a first-aid kit, including necessary prescription medicines, bandages, and antibiotic ointment, flashlight (one per person; do not bring candles or anything that lights with a flame), battery-operated radio or television and NOAA1 weather radio, cellular phone or citizen's band (CB) radio, extra batteries for electric items, wrench (to turn off gas and water), insect repellent and sunscreen, personal hygiene items such as hand wipes and toilet paper, an extra change of clothing per person (store in plastic trash bags to keep clean and dry), appropriate outer wear such as sunglasses, ponchos, jackets, gloves, headgear, boots, etc.; bedding materials such as pillows and blankets or sleeping bags, special items for babies -- formula, diapers, bottles, powdered milk, Special items for children -- entertainment items such as books, games, or toys, special items for adults -- contact lenses and supplies, extra glasses, and a sufficient supply of prescription medications, special items for pets -- appropriate supplies such as water (1/2 gallon per day), food, leash, ID tag, carrying container, etc.

Some optional items that might be prudent to have as well include important documents such as insurance documents, a list of all your important contacts, such as family, doctors, insurance agents and so on; banking information, leases/mortgage, proof of occupancy (such as a utility bill), and a waterproof container in which to keep these documents, ABC rated fire extinguisher, roofing tarps or plastic sheeting, roll of large heavy-duty trash bags, duct tape, and a credit card and money.

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