We need to start a storm shelter company.

Boy, if these huge tornadoes keep coming everybody in the Midwest will be looking to have storm shelters built in their yards.

I'm in Kansas City and I know I'm thinking about it. All I have is a crawl space under the house. No place to go if a tornado gets too close.

We have weather warnings out for tonite - strong storms.

Scary stuff.

We have no basements here.

We do have really deep ditch.

They say to take cover in a ditch if there is no where else to go.

This weather is just plain creepy.

I'm so upset about Joplin. I only know one person there - one of my customers moved there a few months ago after she got married.

I really hope she is all right.

Union crpenters haven't had work around here for a long time - since the housing bubble burst. I bet every unemployed carpenter and tradesman and builder will just pick up and head for Joplin.

I keep the ditch cut, so it is ready.

Hope I don't need it.

Need to keep a blanket ready also, never know now.

About 3' in from the foundation footings. Cement block construction, poured and troweled floor. Yes, there is money to be made here! 3-man crew with a "mason dump", small backhoe/loader with bucket and forks (for handling block), trailer, cement mixer, and a conveyor (dirt out, blocks in). 2 good days, in and out! I used to room with a pool crew - they'd jump on this for winter work!

They would work if you could rig a good lid for them. The ones I have seen are about 5' diameter, 8-10' long, though they come in all kinds of sizes and shapes. Buried, they have the structural integrity to hold up to the dirt.

I saw where one little boy road out a storm in a dryer. Just got in and closed the door. Quick thinking little kid.

A new septic tank is not a bad option when you think about it. Like I said, it is made to withstand being buried. Being underground is one of the best means for living through a F4 or 5 tornado. Since they generally do not last long in any one location, you don't need an elaborate setup like you might for a hurricane, just enough to take shelter for a half hour or so.

Septic tanks are easy to find, easy to have someone bury and relatively cheap. Of course, the guys who were selling them as storm shelters jacked up the price, added benches, and made doors that could be secured from the inside. But if I were worried about putting in a tornado shelter, I would seriously consider one as an option.

or rocky ground. You really need a storm shelter of some sort.