THAT, would have been my preference. I grew up in Oklahoma but we were a rarity, we had a full basement. Of course we paid the price for it by scooping out the water with a grain scoop and 5 gallon bucket after each drizzle. Our neighbors had those half in bunker types and called them cellars and fraidyholes. They had their canned peaches and pickles in them.
Cellar might also be a good place to store a chainsaw and axe.
Ahhhh, when we finally move to OK in a couple years we'll be getting a storm shelter for where ever we finally buy or build our house. However, there is absolutely no way in hell that you will find me getting my sorry ass into an underground shelter of any sort. I'm way too claustrophobic for that nonsense. My wife's cousin has a big spread in Sapulpa and they had a custom above ground storm shelter made in their massive garage. Fully reinforced (grouted and rebar) concrete block with poured in place 12" thick roof with proper doors, vents and safety gear and sits about 12' wide and 25' long. Nothings getting in or through it, period.
Yep, I've used the heck out of a farm jack--when you roll the front tire off a tractor in the field, nothing else will get the job done. They're also handy for man-handling implements that are too big to man-handle.
I did have one try to break my hand once, but that just taught me a valuable lesson about where I shouldn't be putting my hand.
We have a semi 3/4 below ground with the dirt berm around the top. Registered with the county emergency services, so I'm not too worried about getting found as they will have crews with equipment covering the path of the storm to get folks out with debris covering the door.
That being said, there is a pack of toilet paper with a bag of cedar chips and some buckets to use as a potty if needed. Lawn chairs, case of bottled water, emergency lighting with a hand cranked generator for lighting and charging devices.
My uncle in law was in the F5 tornado that hit Blackwell Ok in 1955. It came in backwards from the direction most tornadoes travel. He and his sister were pulled from a building at the edge of town and deposited into a freshly plowed field 1/4 mile away. He said they were covered in puncture wounds from flying debris, and suffered broken bones in his hands and his sisters leg.
https://time.com/3879705/oklahoma-tornado-photos-from-the-deadly-blackwell-twister/
That being said, there is a pack of toilet paper with a bag of cedar chips and some buckets to use as a potty if needed. Lawn chairs, case of bottled water, emergency lighting with a hand cranked generator for lighting and charging devices.
My uncle in law was in the F5 tornado that hit Blackwell Ok in 1955. It came in backwards from the direction most tornadoes travel. He and his sister were pulled from a building at the edge of town and deposited into a freshly plowed field 1/4 mile away. He said they were covered in puncture wounds from flying debris, and suffered broken bones in his hands and his sisters leg.
https://time.com/3879705/oklahoma-tornado-photos-from-the-deadly-blackwell-twister/
Something that works better than cedar chips: kitty litter. Here is the best way to store it (kitty litter in an open container will absorb moisture, rendering it useless for absorbing waste). Get a 5 gallon bucket, put in a heavy duty garbage bag. Fill it about half full with kitty litter. Twist the top of the bag closed, fold the the top down on itself and use some sort of tie to hold it tightly closed. If needed, open the bag up, folder over the top of the bucket, place a toilet seat on top of it and bombs away. When the emergency is over, close up the bag and throw it away. Much better absorption than cedar chips, much better at absorbing noxious odors, and much more hygenic.
I'm sure that's true. I see the bags of kitty litter say new and improved. Probably for the reason you state.
I was on a free range pig hunt many years ago in Southern Ok. Pretty primitive conditions. The potty was a plywood box with a 5 gallon bucket and a potty seat attached. After taking care of business, you added a layer of cedar chips. Never had any smell and it was midsummer. I'll add some kitty litter for backup.
I am not worried about an object hitting an above ground shelter. You can make them strong enough to take about any impact.
The issue I see with one is when that freak storm uproots trees and concrete slabs it could pick up that above ground shelter and toss it.
Shelter will survive just fine but the people inside will not do so well in the landing.
I have thought about this often.
You could bury a school bus or something and make a steel tube with ladder to get into it.
You can make a pyramid shaped above ground shelter and the skeleton inside could be fabricated like a top fuel dragster.
Racing seats 5 point harness Snell approved helmet neck braces and all the good stuff to survive a crash in a top fuel car.
Strap in and wait out the tornado.
I chose pyramid shaped because it looks like it would be harder to lift and the sloped shape will deflect debris better.
Of course I would have some deep anchors in the ground to try and hold it down.
Thinking bell shaped post holes with rebar etc to tie it all together.
Things I think about.
I also though about making a huge hamster ball with top fuel funny car safety inside and layers of thick lexan.
And place it in the back yard. waiting for a tornado to pick it up and take you for a ride.
The issue I see with one is when that freak storm uproots trees and concrete slabs it could pick up that above ground shelter and toss it.
Shelter will survive just fine but the people inside will not do so well in the landing.
I have thought about this often.
You could bury a school bus or something and make a steel tube with ladder to get into it.
You can make a pyramid shaped above ground shelter and the skeleton inside could be fabricated like a top fuel dragster.
Racing seats 5 point harness Snell approved helmet neck braces and all the good stuff to survive a crash in a top fuel car.
Strap in and wait out the tornado.
I chose pyramid shaped because it looks like it would be harder to lift and the sloped shape will deflect debris better.
Of course I would have some deep anchors in the ground to try and hold it down.
Thinking bell shaped post holes with rebar etc to tie it all together.
Things I think about.
I also though about making a huge hamster ball with top fuel funny car safety inside and layers of thick lexan.
And place it in the back yard. waiting for a tornado to pick it up and take you for a ride.
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