Comment on OUR OPINION: Storm shelters continue as an option for some

A week busy with the remembrance of tornadoes and their toll in lives and damage also focuses appropriate attention on how to remain safe during tornado season and the odd days they happen in all months in Mississippi. The purchase and construction of storm shelters after the 2011 outbreaks of twisters that devastated Smithville and left other damage in Monroe, Chickasaw and Itawamba counties is not surprising. The trauma associated with tornado warnings and accurate reports of a tornado emergency must be taken with seriousness. The remedy is storm-proof shelters, above ground or underground, able to withstand the full force of tornadic winds. However, the decision is a matter of personal choice. Storm houses are taken more seriously after every instance of tornado damage, and they are not a new phenomenon in Mississippi or other Deep South states in a “tornado alley” where the twisters are expected and not unusual. The technology and engineering of storm cellars or “storm houses” has improved, and it is possible to make them reasonably comfortable for the duration of time needed to be in them. A drive through most rural areas of Northeast Mississippi also provides abundant visual proof that many people have been taking precautions for a long time. It is not unusual to see storm cellars dug into embankments and hillsides near a residence, or to see a mound of earth covering a shelter underneath.