The West Central Texas Council of Governments (WCTCOG) recently announced the West Central Texas Residential Safe Room Rebate Program funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management (GDEM). More tornadoes have been recorded in Texas than in any other state, partly due to the state's size. Nearly 62.7 percent of all Texas tornadoes occurred within the coming three-month period of April, May and June. The WCTCOG program will provide homeowners, developers and builders a rebate of up to $3,000 to offset the cost of installing an ATSA/NSSA-certified safe room/storm shelter in a residence. The rules require that the home be a single-family dwelling that lies outside a FEMA or locally mapped floodplain. For the purpose of this program and because it is a requirement of the GDEM, any unit on which a rebate is paid under this program must be certified by the American Tornado Shelter Association (ATSA) or National Storm Shelter Association (NSSA). The States of Arkansas, Ohio, Alabama and Oklahoma also have similar programs.

While safe rooms and storm shelters can be made of many different materials, concrete storm shelter provides superior safety from even the most violent tornadoes, meeting FEMA standards. Concrete producers are encouraged to work with local developers to take advantage of this resilient feature and offer peace of mind for new homebuyers.