Build A Tornado Safe Room

Residents of tornado-prone states can now download blueprints from the Internet for constructing a room capable of withstanding 250 mile-an-hour winds. Joe Stocks, director of public affairs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, joined CBS This Morning to explain.

People in the Midwest's Tornado Alley are all too familiar with the devastation and destruction a tornado can cause. In an effort to cut down on the human cost of these fierce storms, FEMA has introduced a Tornado Safe Room program.

According to FEMA, every dollar spent on mitigating tornado damage added up to two to three dollars saved in disaster relief. So, in the early '90s, FEMA teamed up with Texas Tech to design a room that would prevent injuries.

"Most people during a tornado are injured by flying debris," Stocks noted. "The safe room that we developed working with Texas Tech University not only will withstand debris falling in, like your roof collapsing, but also from projectiles. It's been tested with 2x4s fired at the wall in excess of 100 miles an hour."

FEMA Director James Lee Witt says that the safe room can provide protection against winds of up to 250 miles an hour.

Until recently, the publication had to be ordered through FEMA via mail, but following the May tornadoes there was a demand for putting the plans on the Web.

Here is what you need to do:

Go to FEMA.GOV
On the left side of the screen click on Mitigation
Go To "Tornado Safe Rooms"
Download the blueprints
And give them to a builder

"I would not recommend that this as a do-it-yourself project. However, the plans you can give to a building contractor, and they find it very easy to follow," says Stocks.

He says that most people are incorporating the safe room into their homes as a closet or bathroom. The cost depending on size is between $2,000 and $6,000.

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