When tornado sirens sound in Bowling Green, many mobile home residents have nowhere safe to wait out the storm due to the lack of overnight storm shelters in Wood County.
Jeff Klein, director of Wood County Emergency Management, said there is no practical plan for countywide storm shelter access.
“For us to be able to individually figure out where 132,000 people need to go, it’s just not logistically possible,” Klein said. “It would be millions and millions of dollars.”
Klein said residents could explore building their own safe rooms or working with mobile home neighborhood owners to install shared shelters.
“If you do live in a trailer park or something like that, work with the owner…come up with some different options. Maybe give somebody a key to a building,” Klein said.
Klein also mentioned that residents can apply for grants through the Ohio Emergency Management Agency to help fund safe rooms, but those grants are currently on hold. In early April, the Trump administration paused FEMA’s disbursement of millions of dollars in grant funding to states to review its alignment with federal policy goals.
“Unfortunately, this year with some of the different things that are going on with FEMA… those are on hold right now,” Klein said.
Resident speaks out
Bowling Green mobile home resident Heidi Bunting and her family of four have a plan ready when faced with dangerous weather, keeping a go-bag packed and ready at a moment’s notice.
“At least one parent stays awake to watch the radar and the live weather reports,” Bunting said. “We (bring) identifying documents. We’ll put extra batteries for the lantern, flashlights, battery packs, and chargers for the phones. Dog food in there, extra medications.”
Bunting has lived her entire adulthood without access to proper tornado shelter. She said she’s tired of being told to “go lay in a ditch” when a storm is approaching and she’s out of options.
“I googled my trailer and the nearest police station, church or hospital to me is three miles,” Bunting said. “I don’t want to get in my car and drive three miles to the nearest safe structure.”
Bunting said she feels local officials are unaware that access to public storm shelters is an issue.
“We need a solution for all of us now,” she said. “We can’t wait for a disaster to happen before we act.”
While mobile home residents are up to 20% more likely to die during severe weather events, particularly tornadoes, Bunting’s message extends beyond mobile home neighborhoods.
“This affects college students, mobile home dwellers, homeless folks, single-level homeowners, and so many more,” she said.
BG’s long-term plan
Bowling Green City Councilman Bill Herald mentioned a tentative agreement with the Bowling Green Community Center for emergency sheltering, but said its use during tornadoes depends on “emergency procedures.”
“There is an arrangement that the community center would be a place for sheltering,” he said. “Now, when it would kick into action, that I don’t know.”
A newly developed 2024 Climate Action and Resiliency Improvement Plan, currently being reviewed by City Council and the Board of Public Utilities, recommends creating designated Resiliency Centers in city buildings for extreme weather, including tornadoes, and also dangerous heat or cold.
“If it’s a place for a tornado, then we have different structural requirements,” he said. “It would take some work.”
Herald said that while planning new city buildings, like fire stations, with potential for shelter expansion, can help stay cost-effective for the city.
“If we’re designing the building, design it for expansion… that, of course, is a good way to save money.”
To support the creation of “resiliency centers,” Bowling Green residents can contact their city council members and express their support. For more information, visit bgohio.org.
