Although a deadly tornado can strike anywhere, about half of all fatalities occur in manufactured homes, according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory. But residents of Summit Ridge Estates, a manufactured home development in Pataskala, Ohio don’t worry too much about storms these days. That’s because they have a Monolithic Dome storm shelter on their property that provides a safe haven when severe weather strikes.

Have you ever seen the inflation of a Monolithic Dome? An Ohio television station used time-lapse video to chronicle the 15-minute inflation in only a few seconds.

Almost two years ago David B. South, president of Monolithic, received a letter from Jim Mickey, Environmental Planner with the Licking County Planning Department in Ohio. It stated that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is approving a grant for the construction of Monolithic Dome disaster shelters. This month, Monolithic Constructors, Inc., using the services of Marty Heaton, began work on the first two units.

Residents of mobile home parks are among the most vulnerable to tornadoes. According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, about half of tornado fatalities occur in mobile homes even though only 7 percent of the population lives in these types of manufactured homes.