Private Arkansas Storm Shelter Didn’t Meet Safety Standards

Arkansas’ Emergency Management Department says a private storm shelter where a death occurred after a tornado tore through central Arkansas last week didn’t meet safety requirements.

Emergency management officials said Monday that the storm shelter had a door failure during last week’s deadly tornado and that it hadn’t been inspected by state authorities before the storm.

The department recommends that all storm shelters be inspected by a government official to ensure that they meet the requirements by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Performance Criteria for Tornado Shelters.

According to Faulkner County spokesman David Hogue, the death occurred on Plantation Drive in Mayflower last week. He says he didn’t know which of the victims was killed in the shelter.