Tornados! those beasts! question.. (Decatur: new home, buyer, school)

[milledj]

Originally Posted by tammie2

As for a shelter, I would consider them somewhat useless in my opinion. The chances of using it are so slim-I think you need to think about how many homes are taken out by tornadoes, how many times the people were home, etc, etc. I think you have more of a chance of dying in a home fire than a tornado-not to make you paranoid . The tornado that put a tree in my living room damaged homes so sporatically-even my home only suffered tornado damage on one corner, it was the subsequent 15 hours of rain took out the rest

Useless, unless you make them useful in your daily life. For instance, there are closets that you can build that are re-inforced so that in an emergency you "transform" them into a safe haven. Also, like I said previously, you can build your whole house into a safe place by using ICFs and/or construction a basement. That way the spaces are used everyday, not just for emergencies.

[DvlsAdvc8]

Huntsville has a pretty impressive GIS group. I've found a wealth of information there on all sorts of stuff:

Madison County Tornadoes 1950 - 2002 - map:
http://www.hsvcity.com/gis/gis_maps/...es50thru02.pdf

Here is NOAA's data on all Madison County Tornadoes on record- tabular:
National Weather Service Huntsville, AL - Tornado Database

[tammie2]

Originally Posted by milledj

Useless, unless you make them useful in your daily life. For instance, there are closets that you can build that are re-inforced so that in an emergency you "transform" them into a safe haven. Also, like I said previously, you can build your whole house into a safe place by using ICFs and/or construction a basement. That way the spaces are used everyday, not just for emergencies.

How long do they take to transform? If it is too long, you are dead, time is limited with tornadoes. You can also wear a crash helmet when you walk down the street.

I am just wondering how people survived before all of this.

[milledj]

Tammie2... you just go into them! That is the beauty of it. A dress in the face isn't so bad if a tornado was bearing down on you, and, like you said, the chances are pretty slim that you will need it... so if and when you need a space, you just deal with whatever is stored in the room....just like a basement... and if you use ICFs, you whole house is a shelter....again, no transformation.

[Southlander]

Basements are not necessarily ideal - in a Birmingham area tornado several years ago a family in a basement was killed when the house collapsed on them.
Read about tornados and you'll find the biggest threat is flying debris (pictures of 2 x 4s piercing tree trunks, anyone?). That's why they always say to go to a closet or inner hallway, to cover up with a mattress or blankets. After that, you want something that's secured to the ground, or extremely heavy. Even then, there are no guarantees.
I would try to find out where tornadoes have struck before and try to stay away from those areas.

[33458]

SOUTH - Actually, LOTS of people everywhere have died in basements...and hallways. 'Tis no guarantee. I don't expect to be fully protected - is just what I have to work with. My basement bathroom. Four walls with a door and plumbed. The only solid, underground and re-enforced spot that is not directly under the house. We'd be positioned on the West side against earth, concrete block, brick and a poured concrete porch/stairs overhead. My hallway would be collapsing in to the basement. My master closet is the only other maybe...but there's another level and attic above that to either lift off or come down as the floor gave way.

Not liking that idea.

Have experience with tubs and mattresses...because FL is all about open plans, don'cha know? No 'interior' closets. Four walls, together? Good luck.



Tammie? "I am just wondering how people survived before all of this."

They built root cellars or crawled in to ditches. Caves are an option. Before that they probably tried to run really fast.

[DreamworksSKG]

Use Severe Weather Alerts: Thunderstorms, Tornados & More from the weather channel

you sign up online and they
call your cell when there's severe weather
so you'll always get an alert

such as a tornado warning even at night

-jeff--
WInchester, MA

[Keeper]

Most of the local TV stations send out alerts some will call you if a tornado is headed your way.

I was amazed when I lived in OKC that most of the houses didn't have a storm shelter, this was before the safe room was ever conceived.

I know if you go out into the rural areas you will see tornado shelters built beside a road where the land is higher than the road. There are 2 shelters near me that are built where there is a slope in the ground so they basically dug into the slope and put in a shelter. Neither of these are on a road. The fire dept has a huge shelter built the same way at a local park

I have heard that ppl use to get under their house in the crawl space but that is not recommended for obvious reasons.

[tammie2]

Originally Posted by 33458

Tammie? "I am just wondering how people survived before all of this."

They built root cellars or crawled in to ditches. Caves are an option. Before that they probably tried to run really fast.

Believe me, I know. I was being sarcastic. It is like the kids and helmets. I can't believe that I actually made it to my adult years without a head injury without one

Seriously, I remember those INSANE tornado drills from elementary school. All the kids would file into the hall(one school had us bring a book). Then we would kneel in the hall facing the wall, tuck our heads into our knees(with the top of your head and knees touching the cinderblock wall-yellow at my school). Then you would put your hands locked against the back of your neck....yep, that will save ya In middle school we started bringing the text book-because I am sure that would have been much more effective in case the entire school collapsed upon us. We then would "practice" this 4 times a year and in order to practice, we had to stay in the assumed position for 20-30 minutes-whoo hoo...try that someday, we all graduated more flexible than we needed to be . In 14 years of school/preschool in tornado country, I remember needing to go to the hall "for real" once in junior high-and it turned out to be nothing and we had to go back to class after 15 minutes.

Personally I like your idea of running really fast If that isn't an option, I like basements and interior rooms-or both.

[Southlander]

Tammie, thanks to those drills, teachers and kids at Jones Elementary were saved in 1989. I can't remember but it seems like there were injuries, but most were OK. From the database linked by DvlsAdvc8: " The children were moved from the second story of the school building to a small open area under a stairway. This action saved the lives of the children. One person, a woman , was killed in an automobile while driving along a nearby road en route to the school."