How concerned should a person be about tornadoes in OKC? (Moore: apartments, hotels)

[LongNote]

Originally Posted by truckinusa

Ludlow is a thriving metropolis. What do you mean?

Ah, I don't know what I was thinking!

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by LongNote

Occasionally, because of the lack of rain. They're put into check very quickly and very rarely is anyone personally effected by them.



Yes, and when most of those happened I wasn't even born yet. According to your link, the last notable earthquake was in '99 and I was just a kid, I've never even heard of that part of California, Ludlow?

Ah, so you are young. The link said the "WORST" earthquakes in California history. Not "notable" earthquakes in California history.

The reason I posted that in the first place was because you claimed that Northern and Central California don't have earthquakes. And of course, your claim isn't true.

California had two big earthquakes in 1989 and 1994 in SF and Northridge, but I guess they don't count because you weren't born yet. There has been a gap between large 6-7 registered quakes but Cali will have some devastating quakes in your lifetime. Bank on it.

And of course this year is the most threatening year on record for wildfire conditions in California in at least decades. Some are saying centuries and some are even saying millennia.

Then there are the floods and mudslides and avalanches that occur in western states.

So there are "catastrophes" in California that approach and surpass those of the tornadoes in Oklahoma.

[country pride]

I'm not the least bit worried, every state is going to have something or other, and I love OK. Having family and friends there is a plus.
Having lived in WI also, common sense is the key word. Be prepared, have a few necessities to get by for a couple of days in your cellar. Extra batteries. Back home we kept important documents and sentimental things in a water right containers down below, in the event we were ever hit, rather than scattering all over the house in a hurry at the last minute trying to find these things to save. Our basement was also our laundry room and storage area.

[happyjack70]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

Some TV weathermen, like Mike Morgan of KFOR, seem to believe you're supposed to leave your house in the event of the most powerful tornadoes they see on radar. This is surely because such tornadoes are able to wipe out the whole house, leaving only the foundation. So the chances of surviving under those circumstances or not being badly hurt are slim. Some people may question driving away, rather than staying at home, since the streets and highways may be congested and weather conditions may be favorable enough for another tornado to suddenly drop down any where. So for piece of mind, I think it's best to always stay at home, but do have either a storm cellar or safe room. I have a safe room. My next door neighbor recently had a storm cellar installed in the middle of his backyard.

Any idea how much a storm cellar cost to build ? How much time do you have to get to a shelter if you don't have a basement/shelter/saferoom ?

[Rubi3]

So much rain has brought stories on the news about shelters floating out of the place from where they were set. My granddaughter and her husband are in the business of selling and installing storm shelters and she tells me it is the metal shelters the water is affecting. The concrete shelters are having no problems. There's confusion in contacting a shelter company. When my granddaughter went into the business, their internet name ends with dot com. Later, some other people named their company the same name except it ends with dot net. It causes problems for both I presume, but the dot net people knew about the dot com people, so they apparently wanted the confusion.

[LongNote]

Originally Posted by Rubi3

So much rain has brought stories on the news about shelters floating out of the place from where they were set. My granddaughter and her husband are in the business of selling and installing storm shelters and she tells me it is the metal shelters the water is affecting. The concrete shelters are having no problems. There's confusion in contacting a shelter company. When my granddaughter went into the business, their internet name ends with dot com. Later, some other people named their company the same name except it ends with dot net. It causes problems for both I presume, but the dot net people knew about the dot com people, so they apparently wanted the confusion.

That's why it's smart to buy all domain names similar to yours... .org, .com, .net, .info, etc...

[Rubi3]

Originally Posted by LongNote

That's why it's smart to buy all domain names similar to yours... .org, .com, .net, .info, etc...

It may be common knowledge, but I don't know if they knew that's what they should do. I realize it's too bad they didn't know.

[nightbird47]

Originally Posted by happyjack70

Any idea how much a storm cellar cost to build ? How much time do you have to get to a shelter if you don't have a basement/shelter/saferoom ?

I was amazed at how expensive they are. And today with the perfect opportunity to run a con, I'd be wary of anyone who wasn't equivant in price. They had a story on the news about how to make sure the shelter is properly installed and it comes down to 'buyer beware'. Learn as much as you can before signing the dotted line, and it was suggested you stay home when its put in and watch. One of them which floated up had unmixed bags of concrete laid in a stack around it, not mixed, to hold it down. At least if your there they can't pull that one.

With older homes, I'm guessing putting in a safe room isn't going to work so well unless you put it next to the house and make a door. I wonder if others who came from California are adopting the usual attitude about the 'big one'.... Sometimes you have to do what you can and hope.

[debzkidz]

Originally Posted by happyjack70

Any idea how much a storm cellar cost to build ? How much time do you have to get to a shelter if you don't have a basement/shelter/saferoom ?

I guess it depends on where you are, but I don't think most places have public shelters you can go to. I know there are none in Edmond and I'm not aware of any in OKC.

Tornados can happen quickly but usually the weather guys watch them form on radar and in person and give people plenty of warning. Of course, they can change direction etc and things can change quickly. Living here you just learn to pay close attention to the TV and when there's a storm moving in your direction, be ready to act. The weather guys will warn you when the storm will be arriving in your area. You aren't going to have like an hour or something, but you might have 10 minutes.

We don't have a shelter but we have a closet under our stairs that we go to. We have it ready and just sit and watch TV until the storm is almost right on us, then we walk in the closet and wait until the storm passes. In the 9 years we've lived here we've done this twice. Neither time was there a tornado, just rotating clouds in the sky over us.

[happyjack70]

A closet ? Excluding Moore, the odds of your home getting hit by a tornado are what ? 1 in a million ? 1 in a thousand ? 1 in 100 aren't exactly what I would call safe odds. Is your closet reinforced, or built in a way to offer more protection? From listening to what a lot of folks are saying about tornadoes, perhaps I am being a tad paranoid.