If you are living near possible hurricane areas you should learn How To Build Your Hurricane Shelter.
It can be ideal – the perfect spot to ride out a hurricane. And yet it may not seem feasible or likely that most people can have access to one because of funding, lack of space, and not enough time or knowledge.
That doesn’t leave everyone out in the storm, though. For those who can’t build their own hurricane safety zone, there are new products on the market that can protect life, limb, and property such as the hurricane shutters or storm shutters and impact glass.
A bunker that can serve as your hurricane protection zone is only possible if the chances of flooding are minimal. This means you live inland and not along the coast or near water bodies that can cause a storm surge. Living near the coast does not automatically mean you are constantly in danger. A category 5 hurricane is not common and even if it does happen soon and you can’t evacuate in time, you can hunker down and wait it out if need be if you have impact glass and the fabric shutters; if you know how to stock up; and if you reinforce the structure and foundation of your home. In fact, you can start by turning one room, like your basement, into your personal hurricane shelter.
In case you have the capacity to build your own hurricane protection space, here are the simple first steps to do so:
A stand-alone shelter should be made of strong steel panels, insulated concrete forms, or fortified concrete with rebars and a steel door. The panels have to be welded to form a square structure and then bolted to a concrete base. According the FEMA, doing it properly means getting a professional to do this for you and that would cost up to $5,000 if you follow FEMA standards.
If you would rather rely on your basement or designated safe room for your hurricane shelter, make sure it has no windows and has access from inside the house. The space should be 0.93 square meters per person unless there are bedridden family members then you should adjust the space for this person to 2.8 square meters. Remember, this safe room isn’t for ultimate comfort- it’s for short-term protection.
Creating your personal hurricane shelter does not mean you should avoid investing in protecting the rest of the house. You should still lock down the house and cover it with as much hurricane panels as possible. Hurricane panels are aluminum or steel shutters that you attach to the walls of your house with heavy-duty tracks and bolts. They are corrugated sheets that overlap to reinforce its strength. You can remove them whenever you want and they are very affordable. You would only need 15 minutes to set up per window or panel. If you don’t like these options, you can get the fabric shutters, accordion type, or louvered shutters.