FEMA is pleased to announce the release of its updated fifth edition of FEMA P-320 (2021), “Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building or Installing a Safe Room for Your Home.” This 2021 edition of FEMA P-320 updates and refines criteria for how to design and construct a safe room for a one- or two-family dwelling that provides near-absolute protection from wind and wind-borne debris for occupants.
Updates from the International Code Council(r) (ICC(r)) and the National Storm Shelter Association (NSSA(r)) and the “ICC/NSSA Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters,” (ICC 500) are included in this fifth edition. Prescriptive safe room designs that meet FEMA criteria for one- and two-family dwellings are also included as a part of this publication for multiple material options.
Safe room designers should feel confident when they implement FEMA’s guidance for their projects. FEMA-approved safe rooms provide near-absolute protection from the deadly winds and wind-borne debris associated with extreme-wind events.
FEMA P-320, along with its design plans, can be downloaded from FEMA’s Safe Room Resources page.
Safe Room Publications
- Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building a Safe Room for Your Home (FEMA P-320)
- Safe Rooms for Tornadoes and Hurricanes: Guidance for Community and Residential Safe Rooms (FEMA P-361)
Additional Resources
- Community Tornado Safe Room Doors Installation and Maintenance Fact Sheet
- Best Available Refuge Area Checklist
- Residential Tornado Safe Room Doors Fact Sheet
- Foundation and Anchoring Criteria for Safe Rooms Fact Sheet
- Flood Hazard Elevation and Siting Criteria for Community Safe Rooms
- Flood Hazard Elevation and Siting Criteria for Residential Safe Rooms
