Video: Having Your Own Personal Storm Shelter

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)-Tuesday night’s storm touched down and left behind significant damage in some parts of Oktibbeha County.

The strong winds and tornado warnings forced residents like Hellen and Carlton Polk to run and take cover inside storm shelters.

But it wasn’t just any storm shelter, it was their own personal one inside their home.

“This was the first time that we’ve actually used it,” said Hellen Polk, who lives in Oktibbeha County.  “We’ve had it ready before but have never felt like we needed to really get into the shelter.”

The all white structure may appear to be small, but during the storm,  it served a big purpose for the Polk family.

Once a tornado warning was issued for Oktibbeha County, the family immediately rushed into their storm shelter where they took cover for two hours.

“Well we were all fine,” Polk recalled. “There was four of us and the dog. we were comfortable, and it almost immediately got quiet again so we didn’t feel like we were in too much danger.”
The Polks said  the idea to build their own personal safe room inside of their home came from the 2014 tornado that touched down in Louisville.

During that storm, the couple had no safe place to go, so they were forced to take cover inside of their bedroom closet.

“And That just doesn’t give you a very safe feeling at all, this was much much better,” she said.

“I just made my mind up that we were going to have one and the next day I started looking and found a company in Jackson, and now we have one,” said Carlton Polk, Oktibbeha County resident.

The storm shelter is big enough to hold up to six people and is strong enough to withstand an EF5 tornado.

It took five weeks for the couple to have their safe room installed inside of their home.

Now, whenever a storm hits, the couple says having their own safe room gives them a comfortable feeling knowing they have some where safe to hide out and take cover.

“It really makes me feel good even times that I don’t use it knowing that I’m ready,” said Carlton Polk.