Montgomery County homeowners can sign up for a chance to receive a rebate of up to $4,875 toward the construction or installation of a tornado safe room.
Homeowners can fortify an existing structure like a bathroom or closet or build a completely separate safe room that provides protection from flying debris and high winds during tornados.
“I kind of envision it as a pod that could be sunk into the floor of your garage,” Jeff Jordan, director of Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management, said.
Homeowners are not allowed to perform work themselves and the safe room must meet Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements to be eligible for the rebate.
Jordan also says that even if homeowners have a basement, they should consider reinforcing a section within their basement, since basements are not specifically designed for that purpose.
The estimated cost of installing or constructing a safe room varies, depending on the types and materials, but typically the program reimburses up to 75% of the cost. Most safe rooms cost between $4,000 and $7,000, according to Ohio Emergency Management Mitigation Branch Chief Steve Ferryman.
The 21 tornadoes that struck Ohio on Memorial Day in 2019 reminded homeowners of the hard reality that dangerous tornadoes are a legitimate risk.
“I think that’s just human nature right. You know ‘bad stuff happens to other people it doesn’t happen to me,’ but you know the truth of the matter is, Ohio has tornadoes every year,” Ferryman said. “Luckily, the majority of those are EF0 or EF1, but occasionally, such as happened in Dayton, we get the 3, 4 and 5′s. It’s a risk that we all take, and some people are more willing to accept risk than others.”
The deadline to apply is March 5 at 5 p.m.
by Makenzie Hoeferlin (2021, Jan 31) Dayton Daily News
