Safety in garage floor / in ground vs above ground tornado shelters ?

[Hangfire]

I know this topic has come up many times about which type of shelter is best and there are several good threads on the subject that can be brought up by searching.

But.

I noticed a lot more of the damage pictures of our recent Moore tornado were of homes and businesses that had came almost straight down or folded in and the debris completely covered the foundations with the structure vs the foundations being completely wiped clean.......I thought to myself what if a occupied garage floor shelter is under all that rubble ?

My wife works very near the I-35 / 19th St. & Broadway intersection (needless to say I was worried to death about her) and I know contacting her by cell phone was all but impossible right after the tornado so cell phones aren't much help to call 911 for help if you're buried by debris.

I also know you can register your shelter but amid all the confusion directly after a tornado I wonder how long it would actually take before someone started going down the list of registered shelters and be able to actually get to you ?........I think being basically buried alive scares me more than the tornado.

 

[cjjtulsa]

It's a consideration. The in-floor shelters have a comealong inside them to jack the door open, but that may not be of any real help if the entire house is on top of it. Then again, EF5 tornadoes are the exception, not the rule, even among storms that are litterally hit and miss. Most tornadoes take a roof and maybe a little more, where the EF4s and EF5s clean homes from foundations and leave huge piles of debris on top of slabs. Thankfully, those aren't as common. Just my 2¢, and it may be wrong.

It was my best choice, as my wife (nor I) trust the above ground, bolted to the floor units. And I eliminated the idea of an outdoor shelter, as the idea of trying to drag two terrified kids outside in the dark, rain, hail, high winds, and hellish lightning to try and get them to go into a dark, likely damp concrete box half buried in the ground didn't seem like a good idea, either. And the best place in my yard to locate it to be the most convenient just happened to be the same space occupied by all of our incoming electric, phone, and aerobic septic tank. So we have the GroundZero, and I'm comfortable with it.

 

[Glock]

We have the same consideration here. The more we look, the more we're leaning towards the vault room/safe room.

 

[XD-9Guy]

I saw enough of May 3rd and May 20th that my psyche doesn't find anything acceptable unless it's underground.

I don't put a lot of stock in the "what if debris is on top" arguement because debris can block the door of an above ground safe room too. Only legit downside I've heard about in-ground shelters is the danger of the shelter flooding when water lines are broken.

That being said, above ground units have their place, there are some people whether it be due to disability or age may not be physically capable of navigating the stairs into an inground unit.

I guess I should also qualify that opinion by saying that I feel like there is a big difference between a concrete structure designed to withstand tornados and the steel box saferooms that are bolted to a foundation.

 

[Wheel Gun]

Hail is one of the reasons why I'd probably not opt for an under-garage-floor unit. In every home that I've lived in, including my present home, I'd have to park my car over the shelter. And, my garage bays are shallow enough (and cars long enough) that I've got minimal room in front of an in back of the cars. So, if the weather guys tell us to dive for cover, my first step would be to open the garage door and back the car into the driveway so I can get into the thing. This would virtually guarantee that my car is getting hail damage--whether or not a tornado actually puts my house/family in jeopardy. Now, if I knew that I'm about to be smacked, I'd easily make that decision and sacrifice the car. But no one ever knows that.

So, human nature being what it is, I'd wait until the very last minute to absolutely positively make sure that the house is about to be wiped out before I open the garage door, back the car out and get everyone into the shelter. Waiting until the last minute is a bad bad plan.

That's why I have a shelter in the back yard. By my back door, I've got a flashlight, a weather radio and a very large heavy umbrella. If the sirens are going off and Gary England starts screaming at southern Logan County, that umbrella will get us through the hail and to safety. And, I'm never faced with that choice of car hail damage or safety.

 

[AKJ20]

Hear me out,

I was up in Alaska for 5 years , have any of you heard about SPOT . It's a GPS locator, skier and snowmobile use , in case of avalanches. I think SPOT would work if debris block the door of a ground unit or a above ground safe.

The SPOT Personal Tracker raised the safety factor for millions who took to the outdoors each year. SPOT notifies friends, family or an international rescue coordination center with your GPS location and status based on situation and need - all with the push of a button.

http://www.findmespot.eu/en/index.php?cid=101

 

[XD-9Guy]

EM, all you do is pull your car forward a little to get in - you don't have to back the car out. You actually need very little space to get in. Then you get the added bonus of the vehicle keeping debris off the sliding door - assuming you aren't dealing with one of these F5 monsters that tosses cars like styrofoam.

 

[53convert]

I saw enough of May 3rd and May 20th that my psyche doesn't find anything acceptable unless it's underground.

I don't put a lot of stock in the "what if debris is on top" arguement because debris can block the door of an above ground safe room too. Only legit downside I've heard about in-ground shelters is the danger of the shelter flooding when water lines are broken.
That being said, above ground units have their place, there are some people whether it be due to disability or age may not be physically capable of navigating the stairs into an inground unit.

I guess I should also qualify that opinion by saying that I feel like there is a big difference between a concrete structure designed to withstand tornados and the steel box saferooms that are bolted to a foundation.

on the two points I highlighted..............above ground safe rooms, the doors open inwards to obviate the door blockage.
On the garage flooding, also consider busted gas cans and other fuels such as Natural gas..........the vapors will congregate at the lowest point in the floor, just where your sitting..............

 

[XD-9Guy]

I understand but if your door opens inward and a car has been pushed up against the doorway or your roof has collapsed and left debris in front you are still stuck. I have heard about the gas & chemicals too and that's easy to remedy, don't store those items in the garage, they go in the shed.

 

[93turbohatch]

I went over to Oz saferooms..I am signed up for the first of January .( They are backed up that much). I have weighed out the cons and pros of both. I have decided I would rather not be underground where if could drown. Yes they are pricey but a well constructed one pour method meaning no joints at all. I was very impressed on how they are made. They are in the process of bringing all there paperwork from NY so they know where all there saferooms are they can survey and see if there were any failures. They had no failures in 1999 and I would think 2013 would be the same.

Also have seen people talk about underground units being multi pieces of concrete. The oz saferoom is one single pour unit.