FEMA approves $17.8M for 30 tornado safe rooms

WICHITA, Kansas - FEMA has approved $17.8 million for tornado safe rooms in Kansas.

Thirteen communities will get the total of 30 rooms, which are built to withstand 290 mile-per-hour winds.

The money comes from FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).

The school districts that will receive funds for the rooms are Augusta (USD 402), Basehor (USD 458), Baldwin (USD 348), Chapman (USD 473), Independence (USD 446), Leavenworth (USD 453), Renwick (USD 267), Towanda (USD 375), Victoria (USD 432), Wichita (USD 259), Kansas University School of Pharmacy, Resurrection Catholic School and St. Mary Catholic School.

Currently, Sedgwick County has 76 safe rooms in its schools, which often serve as gymnasiums, libraries and cafeterias on a daily basis.

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