Indiana spring severe weather heightens demand for tornado shelters
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — There have been three tornados hit one area of Shelby County in the past 10 years.
Doug Middleton works from home and isn’t about to take any chances with severe weather. His house does not have a basement, but he has a safe place to go in the event of a storm.
Middleton had an underground tornado shelter put in 10 years ago. He keeps it stocked with water and essentials for he and his wife and their pets. He bought it right after a tornado hit a friend’s house.
“After I seen the real devastation, I think it was the next week I went and bought this one,” Middleton said.
Two years ago, a tornado came within a few yards of his house. “I was down there and didn’t even know it had happened. The tree was hit, crushed the fence, crushed my truck, crushed my gate.”
On days with storms ahead, he gets the shelter ready, moves the pets’ crates into place, checks the emergency light, and stocks dry blankets. The shelter can hold six people, or nine if you really pack them in.
Ten years ago, Middleton paid $5,000 for the shelter. He estimates that he and his wife head underground at least once a year. “It is the only 5 grand that I hope I never have to use.”
One of the largest manufactures of underground tornado shelters in the Midwest is Granger Plastics Co. in Ohio.
Shawn Cravens with Granger Plastics said, “Storm shelters and tornado shelters are a retroactive purchase. A person sees the devastation on TV and they see somebody they know, family member or somebody, their house goes through devastation and destruction; they see all the bad news and then look for a tornado shelter.”
Cravens says the demand for shelters has significantly increased in the past couple years. He says grandparents and parents are buying shelters for their children, most of the time after a storm event. “Those are some more of the proactive purchases, but it is after storms like we just saw in Mississippi, the tornado outbreak we saw, 95% of them are retroactive.”
As for Middleton in Shelby County, his shop is 10 yards from his tornado shelter. He has a long-standing agreement with his neighbors that when severe weather is headed their way everyone is welcome. “For me, it is peace of mind. Me and my wife to have somewhere to go instead of the closet.”
Two tornado shelter installers told I-Team 8 that supply is not keeping up with demand. The wait list for a new tornado shelter is at least five months.