During hurricanes, parking garages commonly are used by car rental agencies and car dealerships to shelter vehicles.
Recently, Dr. Thomas Schmidlin, meteorologist and professor of geography at Kent State University, completed research determining the safety of using parking garages for the general public as a ‘refuge of last resort’ and at what wind speeds it is safe for emergency vehicles to continue responding to emergencies during hurricanes.
Schmidlin has studied severe weather including hurricanes, tornadoes, storms and lightning for more than 15 years.
Journal
International Journal of Emergency Management