In case of tornado, go to the bathroom
Submitted by Canton1 on
When the tornado hit Van Sunday, May 10, one family I know crowded eight people into the bathroom of their home until the
tornado passed over their home.
Why the bathroom?
The way their home was designed, the bathroom is in the middle of their home. It’s on the first floor, which is the only floor they have, since like most homes in East Texas there is no second floor. Because their home is pier-and-beam construction, there is no basement. Even if their home had been built on a concrete slab, there would have been no basement.
Because their bathroom is in the middle of their home, the rest of the home outside the bathroom would need to be destroyed before the destruction reached the bathroom. If your bathroom is on the outer wall of your home, you may want to choose a different small room near the center of the house. It could be a closet, for example.
When I built my home, I built the walls of my bathroom using 2x6s instead of 2x4s, with 2x10s on top. That gave us a “safe room” in case of a tornado.
After working in Van for a few days after the tornado hit, I realize my “safe room” isn’t very safe. It is as safe as I could make it, however.
