I have been thinking the master bat but maybe that is not a good place.

tornado, where to go
 

Room in the center of the house if possible with no windows and a door.

Thanks! I did a quick scan on that site and, if I read it correctly, the only month Sumter never had a tornado was December. Not a lot of them over the years at least.

“Florida has the dubious distinction of having a higher frequency of tornadoes per 10,000 square miles than any other state, including Oklahoma. “
Tornadoes - Florida Climate Center

In reading the recommendations so far, I may go to the laundry room, closet near center of house or hallway between two bedrooms. I just don’t know which one I will try first. :undecided:

I glanced down the block early this evening---don't worry, your house is still here. (Dorothy and Toto are back in Kansas, however:1rotfl:)

Actually, my wife is down there now watching the place. She is anxiously waiting word as to what room to use in case that freight train in the sky stops by. :icon_wink:

Seriously, I still can’t believe that someone has not looked at the best/correct place to take shelter in specific houses in the Villages as everything else is so well thought out.

I would just figure out that going to an interior room with no windows would be the best chance. I cannot think of any models that don't have a walk in closet. Does your model have a walk in closet with no windows and all interior walls?

I do have an interior walk in closet but with paper thin walls. As another suggested, the laundry room with things to help prevent debris falling on one’s head might be a better choice. Although the laundry room does have two doors which might be a negative.

This is one of the better posts on this site! Do to the fact there are no cellars in these homes and you won't have much of a reaction time, were do you go? After reading the responses I will consider the walk-in closet or the laundry room, but I will continue to follow this post for additional recommendations.

Very intelligent and practical suggestion.

The Wind Science and Engineering Research Center Texas Tech University have produced the most complete study that I have found on the tornadoes that hit The Villages in 2007. I would hope that the Village builders have taken some of their recommendations to heart and modified some construction techniques.

http://www.depts.ttu.edu/nwi/Pubs/Re...AW-Florida.pdf

Your new home has all of the latest Hurricane protection. The garage door, other doors and windows and the interior wood braces are built to protect you against a hurricane.

According to this thread, folks seem to say that having a wind inspection does not lower your home insurance. Read here;
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...ind+mitigation

Sorry, this is part of the conclusion in the study and what they suggested might need to be addressed.

1. The first tornado was classified as an EF-3 with wind speeds of 136-165 mph. The primary Damage Indicator (DI) was One Family Residences (FR12) with an observed Degree of Damage (DOD) for a majority of the structures in the range of 3-8, with a single DOD 10 demolished structure. The homes in The Villages were site-built and were less than five years old. Their construction type varied from total wood frame; CMU with wood frame roofs; to a hybrid of wood frame and light gage metal construction. Most of the homes investigated were constructed utilizing current hurricane mitigation methods and products. These included steel straps, roof clips, hurricane glazing, and hurricane-rated overhead doors. Those homes not directly under the storm vortex suffered small amounts of roofing, decking and cladding damage. In addition to these damages, those homes near or under the vortex further suffered loss of roof structure, garage doors and walls. Two mechanisms of failure were noted relating to the severely damaged homes: (a) These homes subjected to the higher speed winds, lost glazing and garage doors, became internally pressurized which produced subsequent failure of large portions of the building structure and walls; (b) Most homes observed were not constructed with traditional frame wall ―T’s‖ and building corners which contributed to extensive loss of whole wall sections.

My greater worry would be of a direct lightning strike. I remember reading somewhere that the homes built in the recent five years have had upgraded wind protection but I can't find it. You might talk to warranty.


We have pictures of our interior bracing when it was being built four years ago. Here they are.

I was over at Crystal River and saw a company that sells tornado shelters since no one here has basements. The shelter is a concrete septic tank that you put in your garage (or behind your double-wide). They are modified from the "garden variety" septic tank in that the top is covered and there is an entrance (exit?) hatch on the side. They definitely would be heavy enough to withstand all but a direct hit - but getting into a septic tank - I don't know about that!

These homes are not built to Dade County hurricane code. Dade County is the Miami area and the strictest hurricane code in the country put in after hurricane Andrew. It requires all homes must have hurricane shutters and all doors leading outside must open out, not in. There are many other requirements but you got to know we don't have that strict of a code. Our chances of experiencing a major hurricane is less than Dade County, but it only takes one.

I THINK this shows the code changes that occurred state wide in 2010, this shows different zones ;


http://www.floridabuilding.org/fbc/W...anuary2012.pdf

To save others the trouble and for curiosity sake, I contacted FamilySAFE Certified Tornado Shelters and Safe Rooms to find out the cost of a in house shelter that could be placed in the garage. The cost is not on their web site. So, I will let you know.

The Family SAFE | Certified in-home Tornado Shelters and Safe Rooms

The Florida dealer's web site, which may not be current lists pricing starting around $4,000.

FamilySAFE Shelters | Storm Shelters, Flood Evacuation Vaults & Gun Vaults

My wife, who is a little claustrophobic, might not like this approach.

Usually cat 1 or 2, Oklahoma you can bet a system will have 20 or 30 cat 1 or 2 trailing cat 4 or 5. Many Oklahoma tornados leave only concrete slabs (even tore the water pipes off) as wide as mile or more and has even sucked asphalt off highways. In Oklahoma you best be under ground when warning coming your way. I'll take anywhere in Florida than Moore ok. I spent 20 years in Oklahoma and when under tornado threat of any kind you take it deadly serious.

My brother survived a tornado in MN by being in the tub with a blanket over him.

I agree. As the tornadoes are usually less intense although more frequent in Florida, our chances of survival/less bodily damage are very good if we chose the correct location in the house to weather the event. I wish the Texas Tech study had information on where to stay in the house. Who would have thought that this EF3 tornado would strike in February!

If no basement or shelter? interior closet.

My current thought is to lie down in the walk-in closet closest to the center of the house. The experts suggest throwing a mattress over the body for protection. Mine is too heavy and I am not going to take the time for this. So, I have been looking for other lighter protection mats to use. I found this tornado shield sleeping bag that sounds like a good idea but has not made it into production.
Tornado Shield helps protect against storm-flung debris

Another is this storm guard blanket. As the cost is a little high I am still looking.

BODYGUARD™ by ProTecht