Who sets the criteria for an aboveground storm shelter?
A.FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has created a national standard and published a prescriptive standard in ‘FEMA 320: Taking Shelter from the Storm.’ The standard requires structures to withstand high wind loads and to resist a 12ft, 15lb, 2’x4’ building timber shot at the shelter at 100 mph. 100mph is how fast a 250+mph wind will carry the 2’x4’. The FEMA criteria were established in conjunction with the national experts on extreme winds from Texas Technical University’s School of Wind Engineering. The DuPont™ StormRoom™ with KEVLAR® meets the national requirements for hurricane and tornado shelters.
