Four million dollars bring safe rooms to Kansas schools, protecting students from dangerous weather and tornadoes.
The month is coming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as part of its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).
The school districts that will receive funds for tornado safe rooms are:
- El Dorado/Butler County Community College
- Unified School District 402 (Augusta)
- Unified School District 473 (Chapman)
- Unified School District 609 (Southeast Kansas Education Service)
- Wichita Public Schools
The safe rooms will be able to withstand winds of 250 miles per hour - as strong as an EF 5 tornado.
“Recent events across the country have shown tornadoes can and do hit schools. While we can’t prevent or predict tornadoes with absolute certainty, we can build strong, dependable shelters to ensure students, faculty, and community-members have a safe place to go when storms threaten,” said Beth Freeman, FEMA Region VII Regional Administrator in a news release.
The safe rooms generally shelter an entire building’s population and oftentimes are multi-use rooms serving as gymnasiums, cafeterias, and libraries on a day-to-day basis.
