Milbank Receives $1,096,200 for Tornado Safe Room at Farley

The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced a federal grant for the State of South Dakota.The grant will fund the construction of a tornado safe room at Lake Farley Park in Milbank.This project falls under the Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2022, and it requires no less than a federal cost share of 90 percent. The total cost of the project is expected to be $1,218,000 and FEMA is sending $1,096,200 (90 percent). FEMA obligates funding for this project directly to the State of South Dakota. It is the state’s responsibility to ensure that Milbank receives the award. 

The safe room will be available to any city residents or visitors to the park. It is designed to withstand extreme wind and wind-borne debris, and provide shelter for a maximum of up to two hours. The space will have approximately 1445 square feet dedicated to “safe room” design and construction, with a proposed total construction cost of $1,048,997.75. Additional costs such as management were not included in FEMA’s calculation. Construction must be in compliance with all required codes and regulations, including FEMA P-361, 2018 International Building Code, ICC-500, and the Department of Justice 2010 Standard for Accessible Design (ADA). 

According to FEMA, from a design and construction standpoint, there is no limit on the maximum population a safe room may be designed to protect. For tornado safe rooms, where warning times are short, the expected capacity typically draws on a relatively small area of the nearby population. ICC 500 requires a minimum of five square feet per person for standing or seated occupants. For occupants using wheelchairs and occupants who are in a bed or stretcher, the required usable floor area is higher at 10 and 30 square feet per occupant, respectively. However, they note each community safe room should be sized to accommodate a minimum of one wheelchair space for every 200 occupants.

What is the difference between a storm shelter and a safe room? 
Storm shelters: According to FEMA, storm shelters provide life-safety protection from extreme-wind events; they are designed and constructed to meet ICC 500 criteria, but do not have to meet the additional criteria in FEMA P-361 to be considered a safe room. All safe rooms are storm shelters, but not all storm shelters are safe rooms. 

Safe Rooms: According to FEMA, a safe room is an interior room, a space within a building, or an entirely separate building, designed and constructed to provide near-absolute life-safety protection for its occupants from extreme-wind events such as tornadoes or hurricanes. 

FEMA publications presenting design and construction guidance for both residential and community safe rooms have been available since 1998. Since that time, tens of thousands of safe rooms have been built, and a growing number of these have saved lives in actual weather events. According to the agency, there has not been a single reported failure of a safe room constructed to FEMA criteria.