Buildings, tornado shelters, or garages safe from tornadoes in Dallas? (University Park: school, university)

[dreamlife789]

Every year that tornado season rolls around, I always wonder if there's a place that I can go to that would be completely safe from a tornado. I live in University Park. What place is safe? An underground parking garage like at the Angelika Film Center (there is an opening into it), Northpark Mall, etc. Are there any structurally-sound buildings designed to take the impact of a F-5 tornado? Any underground garages? Any good buildings or storm shelters?

[bluescreen73]

A direct hit from an EF-5 will wipe most light wood and steel framed buildings completely off their foundations. The hospital in Joplin, MO, was shifted on its foundation by the EF-5 that hit there a few years back. If you want the best odds, you'd better be underground if you're in the path of one of those.

[veuvegirl]

This is what amazes and scares me moving to Texas! Where are you supposed to go with no basements??

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by veuvegirl

This is what amazes and scares me moving to Texas! Where are you supposed to go with no basements??

The thing to remember is that EF-4 and EF-5 tornados are in the extreme minority. Out of the hundreds of tornados in the US each year only a handful ever reach that intensity.

[DFWgal]

We only have a few 18-wheelers flying around from time to time

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by veuvegirl

This is what amazes and scares me moving to Texas! Where are you supposed to go with no basements??

Don't let it scare you. You can, and probably will, go your entire life in Texas without being in a tornado or even seeing one, let alone an EF-4 or EF-5 tornado. There's a good reason those make the news: they're rare.

I worry more about termites, petty crime, the economy, my hair, etc. than I worry about tornadoes.

[rantanamo]

A basement would be no match for an EF-5 anywy. A storm shelter would have to have a smaller opening, while a basement is essentially a taller pier and beam setup made with walls, not a complete steel reinforced concrete shell.

[ChristieP]

Remember that a lot of the deaths in the recent Moore, OK tornado were the school children who drowned in a basement that flooded during the storm. A basement is NOT a tornado shelter.

I totally agree with everyone who says tornadoes really are not that common. I have lived my whole life in Texas and have never been hit by or even seen a tornado. I do not have a tornado shelter, and I do not think I need one. If there is a tornado warning in my area, I would take cover in my bathroom (interior walls with no windows). For the small tornadoes that are what we usually get here in DFW, that would be very sufficient.

[Aceraceae]

FWIW I looked at a friends pictures yesterday of the wall cloud/ funnel that passed over Little Elm then ended up dropping a tornado in Princeton and Farmersville.

[Threestep2]

We added a shelter. Above ground, inside, tied into the foundation, rated F5 by FEMA and some other associations, Ft. Worth Code Section gave us more then just a hard time but it gives me peace of mind. It is registered and connected to 911 by GPS.