Tornados form an unusual part of most people’s lives. It’s a rare person who doesn’t hear about tornados second hand. They’re one of the most mysterious and epic forms of natural disaster. As such they tend to show up in both fantastical fiction and real life oddities. However, most people aren’t prepared when the real thing suddenly enters their life. That lack of preparation can have severe consequences. But conversely, giving tornados the proper respect can mean staying safe when they appear. Of course this raises a question of how to best prepare for tornadoes. There’s five reasons why a closet tornado shelter is an essential part of any home.

1. It uses materials people already have on hand

There’s a wide variety of shelters designed to protect people against tornadoes. However, that sheer variety isn’t always a good thing. It means that there’s always going to be questions about how to best fit it into one’s existing infrastructure. Not to mention that one will also need to examine why those structures might not already be in place.

But closests have already been designed around a home’s foundation. One can rest assured knowing that the closet was built to function as part of the greater whole. And of course that the closet will serve as one of the most secure places within a house.

2. Closets bring some automatic benefits

People seldom give much thought to the nature of a closet. It’s something so commonplace that people usually just take it for granted. But a closet provides a remarkably secure setting.

A closet is basically a room without any access to the outside world. It’s essentially a small secured room within a larger room. The larger room might have windows or elements of danger during a storm. However, a closet will usually have none of these things. It’s a rare closet which has a window. And any breakable elements, such as mirrors, are usually easily removed. This produces a remarkably secure environment which can often stand up to even a fierce tornado.

3. People typically have multiple closets

Closets are such useful spaces that most homes have a multitude of them. Enough that one can usually convert spares into custom closet tornado shelters.        Even if it were compatible, not many people would want to use up an entire room for a shelter. But one can usually just combine the contents of multiple closets. This can leave one or more closets open to convert into custom closet tornado shelters.

4. People can learn by doing

Closet shelters aren’t a one size fits all solution. Every closet tornado shelter will have differences from the others. The only fully common element is that closets are small rooms without windows. Other than that one can customize it to meet a family’s needs.

This has a secondary benefit of giving everyone a voice in how the tornado shelter is stocked. Different people will bring skills and requirements to the table. Some people might have experience with water purification systems. They might suggest ways to accomplish that. Some people might be able to work with low power electronics. They’ll be able to stock a closet shelter appropriately as well. And as people talk over the options they can learn about how and why various things were chosen.

5. A home shelter brings everyone together in an emergency

Finally, a closet tornado shelter provides safety right in the midst of one’s home. It’s one thing to have exterior shelters. It’s quite another to be certain that one’s entire family will be there if the need arises. By having a shelter at home one can be certain that every member of the family knows right where it is. And likewise,one can be assured that those family members will always be safe if natural disasters strike.

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Sheri Croll