Tornados

Discussion in 'All Things Boats & Boating' started by rasorinc, Mar 2, 2012.

  1. CatBuilder

    CatBuilder Previous Member


    Agreed. I would not live there either and I'm careful to avoid natural disaster areas as much as possible.

    Here is another picture of that high school from a different angle. It's worse than I had thought.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. Ad Hoc
    Joined: Oct 2008
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    Ad Hoc Naval Architect

    It is the same here in Japan. Houses are crap, cheap rubbish quality and get blown down by the big typhoons, or shaken apart during big earthquake or worse, simply washed away by Tsunami.

    In all cases, both US and Japan, the brick/concrete houses and apartment blocks all left standing alone in a sea of wooden debris.

    Why persist with these inferior houses??

    In Japan it is more a cultural and coercion by house builders (whom lobby their "friends" to pass laws ensure the status quo), no other reason, despite the hard bare facts staring them in the face.

    What excuss does the US has?..there comes a time when the cost of constantly rebuilding crap blow away houses outwieghs the cost of builing it soldidly with bricks and mortar!
     
  3. Frosty

    Frosty Previous Member

    Why dont they bury a large block of cement in the ground like a sea mooring and chain the car to it. In Hong kong they put boats back in the water if possible to survive a Typhoon.

    I cant help feeling a little complacency, I suppose insurance is difficult if not impossible.
     
  4. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    I built custom houses for quite a while and basically nothing but a concrete home, not block but solid concrete roof and all will survive a tornado. Then you'd have to build bear shutters on it. Um for those who've never heard of bear shutters they're heavy, say quarter inch steel shutters on heavy pintels that can close over the windows and doors of a cabin during the off season. Keeps bears out. Even a small one will demolish a brick or block structure. There isn't enough concrete on the planet to build every house out of that much concrete. Its simply not possible. Not only would the cost be extraordinary but then there's the issue of insulation, bla bla bla.

    While I completely agree that some places seem to really present themselves as a target, its just not practical to build tornado proof homes. I did build a bomb proof home once, that was kinda fun but really it was just one huge storm cellar.

    The standard western platform framed home works great, right up until you put it in the path of an F2 or above tornado. Even an F1 can take it apart pretty easily. But its gotta land right on top of it. My take on it is you pay your money and take your chances ;-)
     
  5. Leo Lazauskas
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    Leo Lazauskas Senior Member

  6. Wynand N
    Joined: Oct 2004
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    Wynand N Retired Steelboatbuilder

    If Im not mistaken, it is the opal miners that live in these old underground diggings for the reasons supplied.
     
  7. Leo Lazauskas
    Joined: Jan 2002
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    Location: Adelaide, South Australia

    Leo Lazauskas Senior Member

    That's right, Wynand. Although non-miners also have them.
    There is a lot of earth-moving equipment around so it's easy to find someone
    to dig a house-sized hole.
     
  8. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    I just read an article about a guy who's house was hit both last year and now again this year. He says he's done. Moving to somewhere else.

    my bet is since this years tornado took out his whole neighborhood and since last years wasn't likely to have only effected his house alone. He's not alone.

    I gotta go with Frosty to some degree here. Its not that hard to look at the historical pathways of tornado's through an area, its highly dependent on the topography. Hilly areas or mountains almost never get clobbered, even just a few miles off the foothills your generally safe.

    Its tragic to open up the news and every time the toll keeps climbing. My condolences to those families who lost friends and relatives.
     
  9. rwatson
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    Location: Tasmania,Australia

    rwatson Senior Member

    I went through Cyclone Tracy in 1974. Luckily I was in one of the few brick and concrete buildings, but the flying debris smashed all the glass in.

    Cheap but tornado, hurricane and earthquake proof homes have been around for a while

    http://www.aidomes.com/

    Not very stylish to many though.
     

    Attached Files:

  10. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    Damn that is fugly. Lots of glass as well. The guarantee looks like it only covers the structural components, which makes sense unless there offering laminated poly windows with blast resistant film, 1/4 steel plate doors, and frames all the way around. Also those garage doors would need to be custom, garage doors get sucked off almost as often as roofs. Also wind born debris would penetrate the shell structure unless its plate steel or an adequate thickness of concrete. They mention concrete reinforced but that doesn't mean solid. So I'd suspect that the biggest danger of tornado's, flying debris, remains.

    I once read about a solid concrete house that was the sole surviving house on Galveston island, my take on this is that its not the shape thats all that important but the construction method. I could build every wall, each floor and the roof out of 8" concrete with the typical reinforcing and use just about any shape structure residential in size and create a tornado proof design. That isn't so completely butt ugly


    [​IMG]
     
  11. CatBuilder

    CatBuilder Previous Member

    I'm thinking folks aren't understanding the power of these very small storms. They destroy everything in their path and come on within seconds to minutes. Like Boston says, unless the dome has no doors or windows, all that will be left is the dome (maybe) with the windows and doors gone and the interior completely destroyed, probably sucked out of the open holes.

    The frontal system that caused all the tornadoes is passing over me now. There arent supposed to be any tornadoes, but it's pretty strong. My rv is moving like a boat in a storm at anchor. Hope the boat building structure does ok....
     
  12. Frosty

    Frosty Previous Member

    Im willing to accept that if I was to experience one I would shocked and scared, however I would not keep building houses year after year. Id either dig in or throw the towel in.

    Bos I don't believe your picture . Ive looked very very closely and I cant find the join but!!!--- looks more like tsunami damage rather than typhoon.

    The roof is untouched along with glass still in the windows yet the construction next door and all around does no longer exist.

    Something fishy there.
     
  13. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

  14. Frosty

    Frosty Previous Member

    But but--- its still got the flag up!!!!!!

    Only thing maybe its elevation from the ground. Im surprised there has been no more research on this as it must cost billions every year.

    Some one should have looked very carefully at this house and found some answers.

    Ok its obvious is'nt it?

    The damage was by water flood and not so much wind, consequently its elevation from the ground saved it from the water flowing beneath it.
     

  15. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    Read the article, also I'll try and find the engineering on it if possible. From what I remember, the place was uninhabitable. First floor washed out. Deck structure structurally unsound and had to be completely replaced. The Shingles weren't shingle but some kinda metal tabs nailed down like no ones business I"m sure.

    I'll find some more info on it but its for real, thing survived when all others, well you can see by that first pict

    Meh, there's lots of articles on it but none mention much detail of its construction other than it was designed for a 130 max wind and ike was only 110. Also it had hurricane windows in it. I might have been wrong about it being built out of concrete but I seem to remember something about it was. Oh well go dig into it Frosty and keep me posted.
     
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