General Discussion

SoCalDem

(103,856 posts) Tue May 21, 2013, 05:49 PM May 2013

If there are septic tanks in a community, there can be shelters underground [View all]

A viable underground shelter need not be a "traditional" basement

Anything underground can save your life.

They are not that complicated, and they surely save lives.

I am from Kansas, so I know a bit about tornadoes.. Our house was hit in 1968 .. (3 came thru between 1 AM to 3 AM)

You go below ground and you wait.. even if it's hot & sticky & there are spiders & bugs..or if it's a muddy dirt floor and there are no lights..and the kids are crying & the cat is yowling & the dog is whining & panting like a maniac..

if you value life, you have a BELOW ground shelter of some kind.. It's not a place you regularly hang out in,, you may never use it, and when you do, you may only be in the place for less than an hour...a wise use of your time.

Maybe you'll never use it, and it just sits there "mocking you" for "wasting" that money
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If there are septic tanks in a community, there can be shelters underground [View all] SoCalDem May 2013 OP

I bet the roof of that school bus would peel back like a sardine can. Gravitycollapse May 2013 #1

That photo may have been before it was covered up :) SoCalDem May 2013 #2

Here, where I live, they need to dynamite the space. ScreamingMeemie May 2013 #3

there will always be exceptions, but I guess it just depends on luck SoCalDem May 2013 #4

Right now? Uninsurable healthwise...so I'm worthless. No worries. ScreamingMeemie May 2013 #5

Do you run water and sewer pipes above the ground there? htuttle May 2013 #8

They are just below surface and often need to be replaced. ScreamingMeemie May 2013 #16

our plan is the cave out back, narrow entrance and only ten by twenty inside loli phabay May 2013 #6

and it's free too.. sounds like a plan.. SoCalDem May 2013 #7

salamanders and lots of spiders, guess i will have to take the wet vac loli phabay May 2013 #33

This op is devoid of factual basis galileoreloaded May 2013 #9

tell that to people who crawled out safely.. SoCalDem May 2013 #10

A full septic tank doesn't have buoyancy Fumesucker May 2013 #15

What is going on in that picture?! nt Demo_Chris May 2013 #18

A drained swimming pool is rising out of the ground Fumesucker May 2013 #20

Absolutely amazing. nt Demo_Chris May 2013 #43

That photo makes me worry about my tank's pump chamber wercal May 2013 #23

I've seen swimming pools, Septic tanks, and those concrete coffin containers float up 1-Old-Man May 2013 #35

Then how is it that tunnels are built under water? Isoldeblue May 2013 #13

Probably because there are always naysayers (pennypinchers) who convince SoCalDem May 2013 #22

I've considered using an empty septic tank wercal May 2013 #17

Yep.. If you put a concrete pad under it and bolted straps to hold it tightly maybe SoCalDem May 2013 #24

No need to strap a concrete tank to anything wercal May 2013 #30

I agree. Every single gas station in this country has 2-3 USTs* and they are not floating away. FSogol May 2013 #32

Good Point wercal May 2013 #34

We did a bunch of ASTs (Above Ground Storage tanks) about 10 years ago. FSogol May 2013 #37

Thanks for the info wercal May 2013 #38

Yes (on the wells), but that is the wimpiest type of monitoring. FSogol May 2013 #39

Ah, unit price is always good for those 'unknowns' wercal May 2013 #42

well there is always this SoCalDem May 2013 #46

Where I live Yo_Mama May 2013 #25

Umm.... septic tanks don't float with the water table. n/t lumberjack_jeff May 2013 #11

I don't recall saying that they did SoCalDem May 2013 #12

A septic tank won't float on the water table, a bomb shelter will. lumberjack_jeff May 2013 #14

In a way it does.. SoCalDem May 2013 #26

It's the high water table. NutmegYankee May 2013 #28

They might if they were empty wercal May 2013 #19

due to pressure from the water in the soil, septic tanks frequently implode when pumped out. lumberjack_jeff May 2013 #21

I honestly have never heard of a septic tank imploding wercal May 2013 #27

A septic tank will be filled with fluid Yo_Mama May 2013 #29

Yoo-Hoo wercal May 2013 #31

Are you referring to the GOP think tanks? Blue Owl May 2013 #36

Haha! Good one! n/t Cleita May 2013 #41

In "The Wizard of Oz", didn't Dorothy's family ride out Cleita May 2013 #40

My Aunt Effie had a nice root cellar. We kids always loved to go down there SoCalDem May 2013 #44

Anderson Cooper just said that people don't have basements in the Oklahomacity area applegrove May 2013 #45

I bet they change their minds. Cleita May 2013 #47

It's all about priorities gopiscrap May 2013 #48

Not if you live in South Florida. RebelOne May 2013 #49