Efforts to make schools safer in protecting students from severe weather
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - We have a number of school systems across Central Alabama working to build or remodel the school your child attends. With every new school that goes up, it’s built with new regulations.
According to the state, schools built now are with materials that could potentially withstand an EF-4 tornado. Unfortunately, these new strict regulations came after a tragedy that changed how districts view severe weather.
No one could have imagined what Mother Nature would deal the small community in Enterprise in 2007. It was a deadly tornado that killed 9 people - 8 of them students hunkered down at Enterprise High School. The majority of the facility was destroyed. It was a wake up call for education leaders that’s since changed how your child’s school is built.
“In 2010, state legislators passed a state law that mandated all new schools constructed from the ground up would all be equipped with storm shelters,” said Perry Taylor, State Architect.
Since then, about 70 newly built schools - including some in our area have the mandated shelter feature.
The shelters have enough room to hold all students and staff - plus 10 percent of the occupancy. The shelters are constructed with materials like reinforced concrete walls to protect against deadly wind.
“These shelters are built according to the international building code which is the strongest code right now that we have. The shelter can be a stand alone or can be integrated within the schools. Most of the new schools are built to withstand 250 mile an hour winds," said Taylor.
The school system’s leading architect says the districts continue to adopt the most current and strictest construction safety guidelines when building new schools to keep students safe.
One point of contention when looking at adding shelters for schools is what happens when additions are added to schools. If schools add classroom space for about 50 or more students - those are mandated to be constructed as shelters. School leaders are concerned that those students would be safe - but students in the older parts of the building would not.
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