COLUMBUS, Ohio – The government is again offering to help Ohio homeowners who want to build extra-strong tornado shelters.
The Ohio Safe Room Rebate Program provides a rebate of up to 75 percent of the cost of buying, installing or building a safe room up to $5,250, says Steve Ferryman, head the Mitigation and Recovery Branch of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.
Ferryman says a safe room is defined as a shelter or space that provides protection during a tornado or high wind event. It can be built in the basement, beneath a concrete foundation or garage floor, in an interior room on the first floor. It can also be buried in the yard or installed above ground.
Officials anticipate the program will help in the construction of about 39 shelters and an additional nine homeowners are eligible from last year’s program.
Homeowners have until 5:00 p.m. April 18 to apply for the program on the Ohio EMA website.
Residents will be chosen using a random computerized selection process.
Funding for the rebate program is provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant program, Ferryman said.