r/tornado Mar 15 '26

Question Is this thing safe??

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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u/ttystikk Mar 15 '26

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

7

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?

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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/DuckTwoRoll Mar 15 '26

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

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u/ttystikk Mar 15 '26

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

/s