Question about tornadoes (mobile home, high schools, earthquakes)

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by aussie_bushturkey

Hi All.
My heart goes out everyone affected by the tornadoes in the U.S.A.

My uncle lives just out of Sevierville TN on Douglas Lake, havent been able to contact him since we heard of the disaster here in Australia, just a bit conserned!
Just wondering if anyone has heard any reports from across that way as to how bad they were hit?

Thanks, and all the best, from Australia

Thanks for you concerns.

These storms were primarily in West and Middle Tennesseee (as well as some of the neighboring states). As far as I know, there was little to no damage and no deaths in East Tennessee (which is where Sevierville is located). They may have gotten a little rain and a little wind over that way, but that's about all.

[alicenevada]

Hi there all. I actually live in Pleasant Shade Tn (Smith County) only about 4-5 miles from the most deady Tornado path...Macon County. 13 are dead in that county alone...and from what I understand, 55 so far from the whole storm.

The wierd thing is, we experienced hardly ANY effects of the storm at our house. We live in a hollow between two hills and we did not even get much rain, much less high winds. But only 5 miles to our north, all this devestation was occurring! It's so wierd how tornados will typically favor a certain path. Last year a deadly tornado hit almost this SAME area in Lafayette. I feel horrible for our friends in the area.

On a surreal and somewhat exciting note, there was a major fire that was caused by this storm, as some of you may have heard. This fire was the result of lightening striking a gas pipeline and immediately, flames shot up to 400 feet in the air! This happened 20 miles from our house and yet, when we walked onto our back deck, we could see the whole back side of our hill lighted up like it was dawn. The fire was so huge that it could be seen clearly from NASHVILLE, more than 50 miles away! Thankfully, there were no injuries associated with this fire and so I don't feel guilty for the thrill I got while watching it flicker in the distance. As my husband came home from work yesterday though, he noticed that none of the town of Hartsville has electricity and the entire place was pretty much a mass exodus of people who were leaving to alternate locations so they could have warmth. It was again...surreal.

[46Barb]

We are already looking into a safe room. I'm not sure about putting a room down in the ground. We looked into a company that has a very strong structure that can be placed in the garage. It's not cheap but provides peace of mind. We also have 2 cats and 4 dogs (3 of which are over 100 llbs.) so it may be easier to get them to do into a room above the ground in the garage than convince them to go underground.

Thanks

[alicenevada]

I have a drive-out basement which provides more protection than an interior room but isnt full-proof, of course.

I would think you could get someone to put a storm cellar in cheaper than one of those 'safe rooms' must cost however. Plus, you'll have a great place to store wine, water, necessities.

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by alicenavada

I have a drive-out basement which provides more protection than an interior room but isnt full-proof, of course.

I would think you could get someone to put a storm cellar in cheaper than one of those 'safe rooms' must cost however. Plus, you'll have a great place to store wine, water, necessities.

Nothing like a good 1994 Mondavi Merlot while riding out an F-4!

[alicenevada]

Originally Posted by Lt. Dan

Nothing like a good 1994 Mondavi Merlot while riding out an F-4!

My thoughts exactly! Our neighbors have a nice collection of dandelion, peach, elderberry, and watermelon wines to choose from for just such an occasion.

[TNNative]

Originally Posted by alleycat

You definitely want to get one where you set it to go off only when there's a warning issued for your county. It's called SAME: Specific Area Message Encoding.

I have a Midland SAME unit and it's a good choice. I'm sure there are others that are just as good however.

You can get the ones that have a battery backup which is must..if the power goes out you can still get the alerts of what is coming your way. I keep mine in my bedroom and have the volume up loud. You can hardly miss the NOA alarm from anywhere in the house and my kids have learned when they hear it to stop and listen. Sometimes it's just a test alert, but I advise everyone that lives in Tennessee (or the South) to have one. We even have one in our office.

[kcnative]

I think many newbies are freaking out for no reason...not "no" reason, but it's not like this is an everyday occurrence. Like someone said, this was a once-every-fifty-years type storm.

Not that tornadoes don't happen, but the large number and deaths related to them just don't happen very often.

After a while, you'll see why so many just brush the warnings off. More often than not, the bark is much bigger than the bite...and even when a tornado DOES come through, the chances are STILL better you'll get killed driving home from the grocery store than in a tornado.

Just have a plan and chances are you'll be just fine.

[Taterhead]

Originally Posted by kcnative

I think many newbies are freaking out for no reason...not "no" reason, but it's not like this is an everyday occurrence. Like someone said, this was a once-every-fifty-years type storm.

What about the one that hit Gallatin April 2006, that wasn't 50 years ago. I am scared to move there now, haven't crossed it off the list, but now We just don't know for sure.

Debbie

[alicenevada]

There was a HUGE tornado in April of 1998 that caused alot of damage in Nashville. That tornado ripped thru the property at the Hermitage and many of the trees are still broken and sad. It went almost exactly the same route as this one, down highway 70 thru Hermitage and Lebanon before dissipating finally. The Auto Zone in Lebanon was almost completely destroyed.

Another came thru, as was mentioned, in 2006 and hit Gallatin. And There was a big one in the Hendersonville area around that time as well that again, hit Lafayette- which is the city that was hit Tuesday.

Definitely not a once in 50 years type thing. It is happening more and more often actually. And oddly enough, it seems to favor the same path. I'd say more accurately that there are 'tornado' seasons. And more often than not, if it is tornado season in Tennessee, there will be some tornados.

I'm not afraid of them really. I lived in Texas and saw too many to count. But that doesnt meant they are harmless by any means.