Tornado Ready Schools and Daycares - WAAYTV.com - Huntsville, Alabama

HUNTSVILLE- The fall tornado season is right around the corner, and some area schools and daycares have prepared for severe weather.

The tornado that killed eight Enterprise High School students in 2007 has prompted some systems in Birmingham and Montgomery put built-in shelters or reinforced walls in new buildings being constructed.

But Keith Ward with the Huntsville City School System says the 1989 tornado really got the Tennessee Valley's Attention. "The '89 tornado was one of the worst things we've seen. Everyone in the community and at the state level look at ways we could improve the safety of our students," said Ward.

The 1989 tornado ripped through the area killing 21 people, injured 500 and leveled Jones Valley Elementary School. Since then all new school construction has been built with reinforced safe zones. Those safe zones are usually in a hallway, on the first floor and act like an above ground storm shelter. "They take concrete slab walls in the center hallway and reinforce it with concrete and steel bars to give it extra structural integrity," said Ward.

Even private schools are preparing for the worst possibly scenario. Randolph School is a private school. The new high school that opened this year was built with storm safety in mind. They have an underground auditorium and 4 underground classrooms that would serve as a storm shelter. "We took advantage of the lay of the land and the natural elevation drop from Garth Road to Aldridge Creek. We also knew the history or tornadic activity so we went ahead and created the shelter," said Linda Bryant, the assistant Head of Randolph School.

Mee Maw's Child Development Center in Huntsville has also taken steps to prepare the nearly 130 children they care for each day. "We hope and pray that we never get hit. But when I bought this building 6 years ago I wanted this hall reinforced. It acts like an above ground vault since we couldn't have a basement," said owner Mandi Colbert.

Enterprise High was destroyed along with nearby Hillcrest Elementary School. Both are being rebuilt with storm-resistant features under a $1.07 billion bond issue for school systems and colleges statewide.

Reporter: Haley Baker