By JOY HAMPTON
Many Rogers County communities are adding or upgrading storm sirens.
Verdigris anticipates sirens will be operational within days, and Inola just received $74,312 in grants to upgrade the community’s alert system.
But what happens after the siren sounds?
Many Rogers County residents have no place to take shelter from a storm. There are no public shelters in Rogers County. Mobile home dwellers are particularly vulnerable.
There are 4,934 mobile homes in Rogers County, according to Deputy Assessor Vernetta Bowman.
“The statistics will show most fatalities from tornadoes occur in cars and mobile homes,” said meteorologist Tom Bennett. “You’re actually safer to get out of your car or mobile home and get into a ditch during a tornado. You have a better chance of surviving in a ditch.”
Due to increases in rural populations, Bennett said Oklahomans may see more frequency of damage and a greater amount of impact from tornadoes.
“It’s not that the tornadoes are changing, it’s that the landscape is changing,” said Bennett.
Bennett is co-owner of Jim Giles Safe Rooms, a company that manufactures above-ground, steel-reinforced safe rooms as an alternative to below ground shelters. Mobile home dwellers are among his customers.
Bennett said residents of mobile homes are also in greater danger from straight-line winds. While a normal home might lose shingles, a mobile home can suffer devastating damage from high winds. Most storm sirens do not sound for straight-line winds.
ECONOMICS OF SAFE SHELTER
Some states require mobile home parks to provide a shelter for residents, said Bennett, but Oklahoma is not one of them.
Rogers County does not require mobile home parks to provide shelters either, according to Planning Commission Director Magan DeLozier Green.
Eric Evans, an emergency management specialist for the University of Missouri, attempted to raise awareness of the need for shelters in mobile home parks in Missouri two years ago.
“The resistance is the amount of return on investment that a mobile park owner could see on that,” said Evans. Though tornadoes are frequent in tornado alley states, Evans said individual towns are hit infrequently enough that the numbers are “statistically insignificant.”
Trailer park operators don’t want to expend funds to protect renters and create a building that may never be used, said Evans. Though he encouraged alternative uses such as laundry or recreation, trailer park owners cite problems with security. Evans said anecdotal evidence indicates shelters are often locked at night when most tornadoes occur.
Those who do not have the resources to build a storm shelter should check with family, friends, and local churches for a safe place to take shelter, said Rogers County Emergency Management Director Bob Anderson.
Continued education is important to help people understand the importance of advance planning, said Evans.
PLAN AHEAD
FOR SAFETY
Early warning can save lives if people have a plan and follow it.
“What is the plan? You should know what you’re going to do,” said Evans.
“Make your decision early, when there is a tornado watch, about where to go,” Bennett said. “Don’t make your decision after there is a tornado warning. The most important part of this is that you have a plan. Turn on your TV or your radio.”
Attendees at Rogers County EMS workshops discussed the lack of public storm shelters. People should take individual responsibility for safety and make it a priority, they said.
“Don’t wait for the storm sirens,” these Oklahoma emergency responders said.
Bennett agreed people should not rely solely on tornado sirens. Weather radios can be purchased starting at $20, he said.
People inside structures may not hear sirens.
“Sirens are not meant to be heard inside,” said Evans. “They are outdoor warning signs.”
Anderson said weather radios with battery back-up can save lives, but the problem is most people wait too long to take shelter.
Public shelters are not available because of issues with liability, health and safety, say emergency responders.
“The government will not come in and stop a tornado from hitting you,” said Evans. “It is really incumbent upon a person to find alternatives to that trailer.”
