Gulf Coast Residents Get New Storm Shelters

New high schools opening on the Gulf Coast are being built to serve two purposes, teaching kids and sheltering Coast residents during a hurricane. MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports on how this will eliminate the need to bus residents to safe shelter.

It’s lunchtime at the brand new D’Iberville high school and Principle Elmer Mullins is walking through the main hallway,

“It’s kind of like having that new car, you’re worried about every nick and scratch.”

But it’s going to take a lot to scratch this high school, because the 40 million dollar building has been built to withstand 200 mile per hour winds, and provide a hurricane shelter for up to 3000 people.

“The amazing thing about this is that it is totally self-sustaining. We have about a 120,000 gallon water tower and we also have a generator that has 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel.”

The D’Iberville high school is one of three news schools, and seven stand alone shelters being built on the coast through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. John Le Breune, mitigation section chief with FEMA says the mitigation program has one goal,

“To build back safer and stronger and protect people and property.”

In previous storms the lack of shelters on the coast meant people would have to be evacuated on buses, sometimes as far north as Memphis, but that won’t the case anymore says Mike Womack Executive Director of Mississippi's Emergency Management Agency,

“We will not have to evacuate anyone off the coast that does not want to be evacuated off the coast, because we will have sufficient shelter space out of surge areas and strong enough to meet hurricane force winds.”

Officials are hoping that a majority of the shelters will be available for the 2009 hurricane season.