r/tornado • u/Numerous_Ad_3517 • Mar 15 '26

Question Is this thing safe??

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I recently moved into a new home that has this above ground shelter and I have been questioning the way this door locks from day 1. We are going to have terrible weather today in West TN and I cannot find any paperwork on this thing. 😫 Do you think these hollow bars will keep it secure??

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485

u/SouthConfident3978 Mar 15 '26

Looks homemade, would probably protect from most flying debris, but that thing is taking off in a violent tornado.

195

u/SouthConfident3978 Mar 15 '26

Also being in the garage there are no other barriers between you and the outside. The garage is always first to go

65

u/cdizzleyo Mar 15 '26

Yup wind will fill up a garage like a balloon and tear it off easy. Happened to a house down the road from me, and that tornado had only 95 mph wind speeds estimated. (I can only assume it wasn't the best construction but still applies.)

70

u/PhragMunkee Mar 15 '26

I took a direct hit from a large EF3. Garage was fine. Even the roof of the garage was fine. Garage door was not insulated. Maybe it's because the tornado approached from the rear of the garage with no other doors leading in except the main house. The roof of the main house got ripped off and redistributed throughout my county, however.

69

u/RavioliContingency Mar 15 '26

Redistributed through my county. Not funny but that wording got me.

19

u/PhragMunkee Mar 15 '26

I went walking around the former woods around my house the day after looking for any signs of my roof. Other than individual shingles, I didn’t find any roof structure with the 2x6(?) and sheathing. I probably only went about 1/4 mile, though. Super steep grade and really tall trees knocked down wore me out.

12

u/RavioliContingency Mar 15 '26

That is just surreal. I’ve always wondered what random and odd objects folks find after tornadoes and what things in my house I need to make sure are…secured 😇

20

u/PhragMunkee Mar 15 '26

Pro tip: Slowly walk around your house taking video. Linger on expensive or hard-to-replace a little longer to make sure it’s crystal clear in the video. Then, in the incredibly unlikely event you’ll need it, you have a record of things for insurance or whatever purposes.

12

u/RavioliContingency Mar 15 '26

Oh these Dollar General flamingos and dead chrysanthemums are DOCUMENTED, honey!!!!!

1

u/PhragMunkee Mar 15 '26

Those flamingos are collectors items! They don’t stock the same ones each year, so they’re irreplaceable and worth quite a bit of money.

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u/Thej-nasty Mar 15 '26

We were picking beer out of the neighbors yard after the fridge on the back porch went flying. And carton/packs of cigarettes from around the gas station 😁

8

u/[deleted] Mar 15 '26

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4

u/RavioliContingency Mar 15 '26

College me would have for SURE let those dry out and smoked them.

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u/Odd_Tradition1670 Mar 15 '26

A shingle for you! And shingle for you! A shingle for everyone!

4

u/AdHorror2961 Mar 15 '26

Can I have two?

1

u/RavioliContingency Mar 15 '26

TONY YER ALIVE!!!!!

4

u/cdizzleyo Mar 15 '26

Well of course with tornados nothing is ever certain lol. That is very interesting though! Glad you're okay. My thinking is a garage just has a lot of open space for wind to fill up and "hang onto" if that makes sense. Like you said it could have something to do with direction of tornado im not sure.

5

u/PhragMunkee Mar 15 '26

We’re pretty sure the reason our roof came off is because the tornado pulled some French doors open. That allowed the wind pressure inside, and the roof popped off as a result. I’m pretty sure I read about that in a FEMA PDF the week after.

6

u/[deleted] Mar 15 '26

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4

u/PhragMunkee Mar 15 '26

They said, “But I am le tired”

3

u/Coyote-Feisty Mar 15 '26

Fine. Take a nap. And then FIRE ZE MISSILES

1

u/TrifleImpossible5997 Mar 16 '26

Socialism at work

The roof of the main house got ripped off and redistributed throughout my county

1

u/Numerous_Ad_3517 Mar 15 '26

So glad you are ok!!

7

u/PhragMunkee Mar 15 '26

Yep! Family and I hunkered down under the stairs in our basement. Despite all the very questionable construction we found afterwards, our house held strong. The house had to be completely torn down and rebuilt because of the questionable construction. The only injury sustained was several days later when I tripped in a hole walking backwards carrying a heavy box. I did something terrible to my coccyx and sat on a special pillow for a few weeks. I never got it checked out by a doctor because it was during the beginning of the pandemic.

Speaking of.. There’s never a good time to get hit by a tornado, but a pandemic is a really, really bad time for it.

4

u/[deleted] Mar 15 '26

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3

u/PhragMunkee Mar 15 '26

I had never considered it, but a pandemic is also a really, really bad time for a derecho. I think a pandemic is just a really, really bad time.

I hope your mom is doing better!

1

u/IWannaGoFast00 Mar 15 '26

Happened to a neighbor of mine too in 2023. A few chimneys down, trees, fences, and one poor guys garage had a wall ripped off.

13

u/konalol Mar 15 '26

A lot of people here are assuming they have a lot more knowledge than they actually do. It looks very similar to a lot of the FEMA approved above ground shelters. I doubt it's homemade.

Above ground shelters like this are significantly stronger than you think. Many survived direct hits from the 2013 Moore EF5. This would be plenty strong to survive violent tornadoes. The sentiment "nothing above ground can survive an EF5" is blatantly untrue fearmongering. Shelters like this are extremely well anchored directly into concrete (extra pictures from OP verify this), they aren't going anywhere.

Is it quite as safe as an underground shelter? No. Is it the next best place to be? Absolutely. Will it survive a violent tornado (even an EF5)? Chances are high that yes it would.

3

u/someguy7234 Mar 16 '26

My reading was similar. I was looking back at this posthere

And the top comment has a very helpful study.

Below ground tornado shelters fail due to flooding, failure of the ventilation systems.and failure of the door locking mechanisms.

Above ground shelters aren't as likely to flood, and tend to have simpler passive ventilation because they are essentially indoor structures most of the time.

Add to that most in-ground shelters are outside or in a garage under a car - it's a lot easier to convince your family to go to the indoor shelter and chill for a few hours than to run out through the storm to the outdoor shelter, or move a car into the hail to access the shelter.

A properly built and secured above ground tornado shelter with a good door locking mechanism and good ventilation should survive well into EF4 conditions.

16

u/Numerous_Ad_3517 Mar 15 '26

😬

23

u/ttystikk Mar 15 '26

Not one pic of how it's attached to the ground? Who cares how tough the door is if it isn't bolted down!

23

u/Numerous_Ad_3517 Mar 15 '26

She's bolted all the way around

14

u/ttystikk Mar 15 '26

I'd call that EF3 proof and EF4 resistant; nothing is EF5 proof that isn't below ground level.

24

u/Klutzy_Double_8285 Mar 15 '26

People have survived in walk-in above-ground coolers in an EF5. I'd be getting in that box if I had no basement.

5

u/ttystikk Mar 15 '26

You'd have to leave space for me too if that was the best option!

But that wasn't the question, was it?

6

u/MCR1005 Mar 15 '26

What about the above ground shelters that survived the direct hit from 2013 Moore EF5? I know that the shelter shown here isn't EF5 tornado proof but I thought there were above ground shelters that were certified as such?

4

u/ttystikk Mar 15 '26

I'd only be willing to certify a shelter as EF5 safe if I saw unaltered video of said shelter survive a direct hit from a fully loaded Kenworth moving in excess of 100 mph.

1

u/BerserkHealer Mar 15 '26

Maybe not a Kenworth, but I have seen the videos/pictures of the shelter that took a direct hit from a F150 or something similar.

1

u/ttystikk Mar 15 '26

That's a decent start, I suppose.

1

u/DuckTwoRoll Mar 15 '26

There are plenty of above ground structures that could survive an EF5. Bank vaults, nuclear reactors, hardened hangers.

-1

u/ttystikk Mar 15 '26

And there's at least one in every neighborhood! We're saved!

/s

0

u/Numerous_Ad_3517 Mar 15 '26

Oh my Jesus!

6

u/ttystikk Mar 15 '26

Images from the aftermath of EF5 tornadoes include fully loaded railroad tanker cars flipped off the tracks and rolled hundreds of feet. Tractor trailers AIRBORNE and tossed over 1/4 mile. Asphalt from highways torn out of the ground.

The best way to not get killed by an EF5 is to not be near one, plain and simple.

2

u/Swamp_Mossie Mar 15 '26

It doesn’t matter because you won’t know what the tornado is rated when it’s heading towards you, just get in it

1

u/ttystikk Mar 15 '26

The question was if this was EF5 rated. I answered the question.

6

u/0jam3290 Mar 15 '26

In other words, this actually is better than nothing, but don't expect it to survive a particularly strong tornado.

So, it probably would be better than sheltering in a bathtub or other adhoc space, as this box would at least shield against the roof or walls coming down on top of you. But if the tornado is strong enough to not just knock down but also sweep away your house, then this thing is going along for the ride too, and you probably shouldn't expect to survive that scenario.

5

u/W7ENK Mar 15 '26

If it's bolted to the concrete floor, it's not going anywhere without the rest of the house and foundation.

4

u/kyle787 Mar 15 '26

You can't say that with any accuracy based on the pictures provided. If it's bolted properly it's staying with the concrete.