Feds: Enterprise tornado shows need for hardened shelters

ENTERPRISE, Ala. - Federal weather officials said a March 1st tornado outbreak that struck Alabama and Georgia, killing eight students huddled inside Enterprise High School in Alabama, showed the need for a "hardened safe room" for use during storms.

The National Weather Service says in its report today that Enterprise school officials and students followed appropriate safety measures before and during the tornado, but the storm demonstrated the need for a safe-room shelter.

Besides the deaths in Enterprise, the tornado outbreak killed six people in a mobile home park near Newton, Georgia, and five others elsewhere in Alabama and Georgia.

The Weather Service report says a total of 31 verified tornadoes struck 45 counties in Georgia and south Alabama, including 13 packing winds of 113 miles an hour or stronger. The deadliest hit Enterprise with winds of 200 miles an hour.

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, Enterprise school officials were criticized for not releasing the students and staff before or during the tornado. But the federal report defended that decision.

On the Net:

The report ``Tornadoes in Southern Alabama and Georgia on March 1, 2007'' is available at http://www.weather.gov/os/assessments/index.shtml.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/11/204447