Safe rooms can save student lives

Recent tornadoes and severe storms remind us that severe weather can and does happen in Iowa. Already this year, two Iowans have lost their lives to severe weather and many homes and businesses have sustained damage. Severe weather can strike anywhere, at any time, and we are all susceptible.

Because of that, one of the most important jobs of the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is to ensure Iowa and Iowans are prepared and ready to respond to severe weather and all emergencies and disasters. That includes making sure our students and schools are prepared and protected.

One of the best steps a school system can take to protect its students and staff is to build a tornado safe room. Designed and constructed to withstand wind speeds of up to 250 mph and the impacts of associated debris, these safe rooms provide an added level of protection from tornadoes and other severe weather for approximately 30,000 Iowa students, staff and visitors.

Since 2006, HSEMD has been able to fund 40 school safe rooms at a cost for all projects of $42 million - 75 percent of this is federal funding, along with 10 percent from the state, and 15 percent from the local school districts.

Safe rooms are like insurance - you hope you never need to use them, but they're important to have, just in case something does happen. Iowa's existing school safe rooms have been used many times.

In Bondurant, straight-line winds forced students at the track and players and spectators at a volleyball game in the gym into their two safe rooms.

At East Union Community School District in Afton, performers and audience members at a play were moved to the safe room when the sirens sounded during a storm that produced a tornado in nearby Creston. And during a softball/baseball competition last June, players and spectators were able to take shelter in the East Union safe room.

Newman Catholic School in Mason City has used its safe room four times for severe weather threats and once to provide a safe place for students during a bomb threat.

Northeast Community School District in Goose Lake has used its safe room to shelter students when severe weather threatened.

Although some school safe rooms have not been used for actual severe weather, administrators, staff and parents have the peace of mind of knowing that if they need it, it is there, ready to provide shelter and safety.

In addition to providing shelter during hazardous weather, these safe rooms serve other purposes, such as classrooms, wrestling/weight rooms, locker rooms and auditoriums for the schools. The investment in safety pays off in versatility and everyday-added usefulness.

Our department is currently taking applications from schools for safe room projects. While it is not possible to fund all of the requests at this time, we are waiting for more federal money so that more Iowa schools will be able to build safe rooms.

We recognize that the decision to put a safe room in a school is a local one. It is up to the school board, parents and members of the community to decide if a safe room is a priority.

We, however, consistently urge school districts to weigh the cost against the benefit of including safe room design and construction whenever they are considering new school construction or expansion projects. We hope that safe rooms are an integral part of all Iowa school construction plans.

While including a safe room will add to the cost of a school construction project, the potential benefits - keeping students safe and protected - are immeasurable.

' Mark Schouten is director of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department. Comments: mark.schouten@iowa.gov