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Old 03-17-2014, 07:02 PM
eok eok started this thread
 
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If you live in a 3-story condo building, what percentage of your tornado risk comes from which floor you're on? If a tornado is just barely strong enough and close enough to rip off the roof, and do extensive damage to the top floor (assuming there is no attic, but just vaulted ceilings on the top floor), is that same tornado also going to do extensive damage to the 2nd floor? Or would it take a much stronger tornado to do extensive damage to the 2nd floor, than one strong enough to rip off the roof from the top floor? Logically, it seems that it would take a much stronger one, except for the damage done through the windows. Especially if the floors are made partly from concrete. But is that how it actually happens in practice?

The point of all this being whether it would make sense to take tornadoes into account when choosing which floor of a condo building you want to live on. Obviously all the floors have risk, but the issue is whether the risk varies enough between floors for it to make sense to take the difference into account when choosing a floor.
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Old 03-18-2014, 02:34 PM
 
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You know, in the the time it takes you to worry over it, you could have walked down to the lowest possible floor with a flashlight and a radio, improving your odds considerably
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Old 03-18-2014, 03:16 PM
eok eok started this thread
 
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Originally Posted by cpg35223 View Post
You know, in the the time it takes you to worry over it, you could have walked down to the lowest possible floor with a flashlight and a radio, improving your odds considerably
Read it more carefully. It's not about what to do when there is a tornado warning. It's about what to consider when buying a condo.
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Old 03-19-2014, 01:08 PM
 
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The second floor may be marginally safer since the third floor relies on the roof for structural support (often a weak link in the load path) and the walls would be more prone to collapse, but it ultimately depends on the construction quality of the building, and I don't think it would realistically make much difference. Definitely not something I'd put much stock in when looking for a condo.

Hopefully you wouldn't be on the second or third floor in the event of a tornado anyway.
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Old 03-19-2014, 01:36 PM
 
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Originally Posted by eok View Post
Read it more carefully. It's not about what to do when there is a tornado warning. It's about what to consider when buying a condo.
Well, it could be a single unit that's three stories or a building that's three stories.

Back to the original question, lower floors are better. Of course, I think I'd be in the bottom of the stairwell if push came to shove.
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Old 03-19-2014, 09:50 PM
eok eok started this thread
 
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In a lot of condo buildings, the stairwell has big windows.


Another question about such risks is whether a 3-story building as a whole is riskier than a 1-story building. Being taller it has more surface area to catch the wind, right? After the tornado comes and goes, you might not be in Kansas anymore. Or does the weight of the building make up for the higher surface area? More weight being better? Maybe it needs weight out of proportion to its size, just to hold itself together better in everyday situations. More concrete and bricks, and proportionally less wood and plaster? So it might actually be affected less by a tornado than an ordinary house might be?


I remember watching the roof of a big box retail store open like a can of sardines in a hurricane, rolling up the same way. But it was sheet metal with minimal metal framework. I'm thinking a more typical roof would be more likely to break off in a few pieces, and fly away like kites. And even if the walls don't collapse, anyone or anything on the top floor might get sucked into the wind.

But how likely is this kind of stuff to actually happen to a particular building? Even if the building is in Oklahoma City, how often could it expect a tornado to actually rip its roof off? Most tornadoes that went near the building wouldn't actually hit it directly, but might just do minimal damage by throwing stuff at it weakly from a distance. Right?
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