Recent severe storms turn some residents to purchasing shelters

AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) – Storm season tends to put people on high alert, and rightfully so.

Storm shelters have become a hot commodity following the recent wave of tornadoes and severe weather.

Teresa King moved back to her hometown of Amory in December of 2022.

In just three months since her return, a tornado ripped through her town.

“I drove through town and it made me sick because I know so many people and the houses were just gone. So I decided that we would get this storm shelter. We talked about it and decided that we would get this storm shelter because no matter what the cost it’s totally worth your life,” said King.

Most storm shelters withstand up to an EF5 tornado and can hold eight to 15 people, depending on the size.

Now, after purchasing a shelter from Walton’s Greenhouse in Amory, King feels more secure about her and her family’s safety.

“My daddy. I texted him yesterday a video of the storm shelter getting delivered and I was like ‘Hey, now you got somewhere to go’.” said King.

The Amory store is typically busy but storm shelters haven’t been a popular product until recently.

“Since the storm, there have been several. I would say we’ve had probably over 100 inquiries about storm shelters and between our Walton’s location we have probably sold about 25,” said Bishop.

Even employees are buying customers.

“NSSA approved and FEMA approved and Im planning on getting one myself,” said Bishop.

Walton’s Greenhouse has five different locations: Columbus, Amory, Fulton, Tupelo, and New Albany.

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