Project TOTO

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Project TOTO will create above ground tornado shelters by modifying shipping containers. This lower cost shelter will allow more shelters to be built and facilitate easier entry, making shelters more accessible.

Standings & Awards

422 out of 422 in North America
206 out of 206 in Technology
935 out of 935 in Design
992 out of 992 in Charitable
4003 out of 4003 Overall

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VOTES

We will save the maximum amount of lives by implementing more effective tornado shelter technology.

On May 22, 2011, an F5 tornado struck Joplin, Missouri. Large trucks and concrete bumpers were tossed as far as 1/8 mile as the storm cut a mile wide path of destruction across the town. The storm left many injured and 161 people dead.

This storm was deadlier than most, but tornado deaths are not unheard of. On average, 60-70 people die from tornadoes each year. In towns all across the Midwest, tornado shelters exist, but can't always be accessed in time.

Project TOTO would like to change this. Many of these deaths could be prevented by more effectively placed shelters. Above ground shelters will be cheaper to build, allowing more shelters to be built. They will also be easier to get into, but with an effective door system, will remain sealed against wind and flooding. Systematically placing these shelters will ensure that within 60 seconds, a shelter can be reached from anywhere in town.

Project TOTO is comprised of three different sections:

The first section will determine the most effective locations for containers. By placing them systematically and more visibly, they can be reached more quickly. We will concentrate these containers in areas that are heavily populated or isolated from other shelter – schools, hospital, shopping centers, nursing home, stretches of highway. They will also be placed away from potential flying debris (such as parking lots) and ditches which could flood. To make them more detectable, a siren and light will be attached to the shelter.

The second will determine the best way to keep the shelter attached to the ground during tornado force winds. To anchor the shelters, holes 3ft in diameter and 10 ft deep will be filled with concrete. A metal chain will run through these concrete columns and be welded to the bottom of the shelter. A dirt berm will also be built on 3 sides of the container to reinforce the sides and minimize the effect of flying debris.

Third section will design a door that can be easily opened by any person but also remain sealed and keep flood waters and wind out when the tornado hits. To achieve this, a wheel handle can be turned to raise a slide bolt to hold the door closed. An o-ring or elliptical water seal will be used to prevent the shelter from flooding.

Altogether, we hope to create better tornado shelters to protect the lives of all citizens across the tornado belt, starting in the town of Joplin, Missouri.

FIVE PROJECT QUESTIONS Required (60 - 90 minutes)

1. What is your innovation?

Our innovation is putting tornado shelters above ground in an effort to make them cheaper to produce. This enables more shelters to be placed, making them nearer, more visible, and more quickly accessible to people in the town at the time of a tornado. They will also be more easily entered by the elderly and disabled. We also will be placing the shelters more systematically by looking at the layout of the town and identifying the best locations, rather than having shelters built by individuals.

2. Who gains the most?

The people of Joplin benefit the most from these shelters. Currently the shelters are inaccessible or poorly implemented and people with disabilities, the elderly, and children sometimes have problems getting there in time. The new shelters will be placed stragtegically so that they can be accessed quickly and easily. Eventually we plan to expand to other tornado prone areas with problematic public shelters.

3. Who pays?

We plan for some money to come from the city of Joplin and its local businesses as the shelters will be directly benefitting them. This will pay for the materials and installation.They are agreeable to this. However, they are already under the financial strain of rebuilding the damage from the most recent tornado, so we would like this to cost them as little as possible. We hope to secure the remaining funds from fundraising and competitions. This would help us pay for prototypes and testing.

4. What is your success?

In three months we would like to have a prototype built and ready for testing. In twelve months we would like to finish preparations for the placing of the first shelter in Joplin, and on the 2 year anniversary of the EF5 tornado that hit Joplin we hope to have our first shelter placed. In three years, we hope to complete our work in Joplin, and begin planning for other areas where our shelters would be useful. In five years, we hope to have our second project completed with our third started.

5. How will you do it?

By dividing the work up into different sections work can be done more efficiently and our prototype goal will be easier to achieve. After the prototype is completed it would be logical to divide again into two groups, one working on testing the prototype and one working on fundraising. During all of this, we will be working with the town and its people to find out what they want and how we can better meet their expectations.