If you've lived in Alabama a while, you're probably used to severe storms and tornadoes.  But the deadly tornadoes of April 27 have made many Alabamians think twice about responding casually to storm warnings.

As homes leveled by the April 27 tornadoes are rebuilt in Tuscaloosa and elsewhere in Alabama, safe rooms are expected to be increasingly incorporated into their construction, reports the Tuscaloosa News.

One such room, left standing amid the rubble in Tuscaloosa's Forest Lake neighborhood, serves as somber endorsement of sorts for secured spaces.  As reported in the Tuscaloosa News:

"You could come out here and see this plain as day for 2 miles as being the only structure standing here," said William Blakeney with Blakeney Construction, who built the safe room for his grandparents.

The safe room has 8-inch thick cinder blocks with steel rods wedged inside them that were covered in cement. The rods bend through the cement ceiling, and three dead bolts can be used to keep the door secure. The whole thing is anchored to the home's foundation.
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