Taking shelter from the storm: Building a safe room for your home or small business

This third edition helps home or small business owners assess their risk and determine the best type of safe room for their needs. The publication provides designs for basement, in-ground, and above-ground safe rooms to avoid injury or death caused by the dangerous forces of extreme winds such as tornadoes and hurricanes. The document includes many updates and modifications of recommended designs for residential safe rooms and further expand their applicability to small businesses and public facilities intending to shelter 16 persons or less. The designs comply with the new criteria that has been presented in the updated FEMA 361 and the newly released consensus standard (ICC-500). Updates to FEMA 320 also include: - New hazard occurrence maps; - Revised discussions on hazards; - protection from hazards and the use of safe rooms; - New consumer guide section; - New success stories section; - Revised safe rooms plans with expanded sizes.