By Staff
Jonathan Willis
Six new storm shelters should be completed and ready to use by the end of the month, officials said.
Two new storm shelters are being built in Red Bay and Russellville and one each in Hodges and Phil Campbell.
A shelter has already been built in Vina.
The shelters were constructed with funding the county received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Each shelter cost $62,000 to build with each town responsible for 25 percent of the costs. In-kind work, however, such as moving and filling dirt around each one, took some of the costs off the cities.
Roy Gober, director of the Franklin County Emergency Management Agency, said each shelter would seat 80 people, but as many as 120 people could fit in them if the need arises.
Local authorities will unlock the shelters when tornado warnings are issued in the county. Gober said the structures themselves are built to withstand wind speeds as high as 250 miles per hour. Once dirt is placed around each shelter, they will be able to withstand winds up to 300 miles per hour.
Russellville City Councilman Burns Saint said the shelters were placed in locations that would be easily accessible for residents.
"We wanted to put one on the east end of town so nobody would be caught by a train or downtown," he said.
The second Russellville shelter was built near the site of the old junior high school building.
"That way we have one on both sides of town and the courthouse," Saint said.
Red Bay officials looked into areas where few homes had basements and where there weren't currently any places to seek shelter.
"We looked at areas of need and in neighborhoods where there aren't any basements," Mayor Jeff Reid said.
Each shelter has lights and ventilation systems that can be operated by generators if the power is out.
Gober said he would look at getting more government funding for additional shelters in the future.
"If the money comes available, we will look at getting more," he said.