School Safe Rooms on the Rise Following Joplin Tornado

More than $100 million will have been spent on safe room projects across Missouri by the time the projects are completed. The projects were spurred by a May 2011 tornado in Joplin that left 161 dead.

Published: January 30, 2015Author: CS Staff

Missouri districts have spent the past three years adding safe rooms to schools. The projects were in response to a May 2011 tornado in Joplin which killed 161 people and destroyed a dozen school buildings.

Once currently proposed safe room construction projects are completed, 40,000 students, staff and community members across Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas will have access to shelter during severe weather, the Joplin Globe reports.

More than $100 million will have been spent on the projects, with a portion of the costs being covered by federal funds.

——Article Continues Below——