COLUMBUS— Homeowners throughout Ohio now have the opportunity to apply to receive reimbursement for the purchase and construction/installation of a tornado safe room inside or outside their homes.
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Figure 5-1: Safe room that remained standing after an EF5 tornado (Newcastle, OK, 2013). The photo shows the safe room after the event, after debris had been
cleared away.
The Ohio Emergency Management Agency is ramping up a financial program that will help people during extreme weather events. It’s the Ohio Safe Room Rebate Program and the program provides as much as 75% of the costs to build a home storm shelter.
During the 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes that tore through Dayton, Harrison Township resident Teresa Smith had just minutes to get to safety.
“I thought I heard sirens and I turned the TV on and it said, ‘if you live in the Harrison Township area, get into your safe place, like now.’ I didn t have two minutes and it was there. I ran to the basement and held on for my life,” she recalled after the storms.
Ohio EMA accepting applications for Ohio Safe Room Rebate Program
Submitted by Preble County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
EATON The Preble County EMA along with the State of Ohio EMA is once again announcing applications will be accepted for the Ohio Safe Room Rebate Program. Homeowners throughout Ohio now have the opportunity to apply to receive reimbursement for the purchase and construction/installation of a tornado safe room inside or outside their homes.
In 2019, the National Weather Service confirmed damage from three tornado touchdowns within Preble County as well as the 21 tornadoes that struck Darke and Montgomery Counties during the late night/early morning of May 27-28. The Memorial Day tornadoes killed two people and caused an estimated $1 billion in damages, proving to be the most destructive natural disaster in Ohio history.