When Mother Nature sends Hurricane Rita knocking at the door, it doesn’t hurt to have a door that can withstand the pressure of the intense winds that come with it.

Recently, the GBRA installed a storm shelter near the main spillway at the Coleto Creek Reservoir to protect emergency staff required during hurricanes and other severe weather that tend to strike the coastal areas.

Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita made landfall on Sept. 24, 2005, between Sabine Pass, Texas, and Johnsons Bayou, La., as a Category 3 hurricane and at one point packed maximum sustained winds up to 140 mph.

GBRA's 68,000-pound shelter, constructed in Chandler, AZ by Oldcastle Precast, is designed to withstand up to 150mph winds with five-inch thick walls, floor and roof.

Using a 240-ton crane, reservoir staff installed the shelter with the help of Bay Inc.