Severe Weather

[ides]

GRU- if you are building your forever home you can have a safe room built into it that is ef-5 tornado proof. If not it seems the garage is the general place they are put. Seems like you could put one under your basement though. Definitely more appealing to me.

[Pollyanna]

GRU- if you are building your forever home you can have a safe room built into it that is ef-5 tornado proof. If not it seems the garage is the general place they are put. Seems like you could put one under your basement though. Definitely more appealing to me.

Yes this. We have an EF-5 safe room in our garage. We went with above ground. There are options for sure in a home under construction. The gentleman that installed ours said they install a bunch of safe rooms in basements. If I were building a home I would have a large safe room for people and a small safe room for momentos like pictures and videos.

[Pollyanna]

"...it isn't cost effective."

I sure as heck hope the folks, in that area, wake up and realize,after burying those precious children, that it SURE as hell should be considered "cost effective!"

I think she meant for private homes, not schools. But I agree that all schools should have shelters. I honestly find it irresponsible for people to live in tornado prone areas and not have shelters. When my brother moved to OK 20 years ago people thought he was odd for installing a shelter, but whose door did the neighbors knock on when they were scared?

[ladymoreta]

but whose door did the neighbors knock on when they were scared?

This happened with us, too. I had three families down there during one storm. It sucks telling people there's just no more room.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

Good to know!

[SoonerTexan]

Yes for private homes it isn't cost effective. I don't know why the schools didn't have one.

What I'm pointing out is that scientifically there is no reason Moore should have been hit by two major tornadoes and a smaller one more than any other area a few miles north or south. These people aren't stupid--they know the risks and what the chances are...and the chances weren't high. They just gambled and lost. It's sad, but not stupid.

Seriously when this storm first appeared I was frantically texting my brother in Norman to get in a basement because it could have gone that way too.

[medpedspouse]

I think she meant for private homes, not schools. But I agree that all schools should have shelters. I honestly find it irresponsible for people to live in tornado prone areas and not have shelters.

I grew up in FL and most of the schools doubled as hurricane shelters. I wonder why schools in tornado prone areas could not double as shelters for the community. Is it because, unlike with hurricanes, there would not be enough time to drive to the shelter/schools?

[SoonerTexan]

^exactly

[Cinderella]

Growing up in Texas we had to do tornado drills in school too. It never felt safe. When we moved here I learned Oregon does earthquake drills, but they can have tornadoes too. I think one other reason besides cost for schools not all having shelters is because assembling the student body to the under ground shelter would take more time than most warnings.

I was watching more of the coverage of the monster tornado and some people they interviewed were saying that the handle on their tornado shelter was shaking from the tornado. They had to have 4-5 people holding the handle so the door didn't open. Now I'm curious about tornado shelters and what kind of handles or locks they have on them. If the shelter is underground and the door opens can you really get sucked out like in the movies?

[Sheherezade]

I heard this discussed yesterday and they said that the whole idea of people moving around to get to a safe place was considered more dangerous in general to the community. I can see that.

Still, I wonder why they don't make storm shelters part of the building code for new housing? Particularly if the cost is relatively low (under 3K), I would think that would be a good thing to have in a home with no basement. Don't they require earthquake friendly building techniques in earthquake areas?

I wonder if insurance companies will change their coverage. I know that in FL after Andrew and then the summer with three hurricanes in a row, insurance companies stopped covering waterfront condos for hurricane damage. That's when my mom moved off the water and inland.

I had to stop listening to the news; I'm seriously depressed by this recent stream of tragedies. (Newtown, Boston bombing, Tornado) Momo, I don't know how you handle having relatives in Syria and all the horror stories out of there. I feel a serious lack of control over all these horrors.

[SuzySunshine]

In good news they have LOWERED the death toll at this point - they think a lot of people were counted twice yesterday...

[poky]

Don't they require earthquake friendly building techniques in earthquake areas?

Absolutely yes. At least for new construction in the US; can't speak to other parts of the world.

[WolfpackWife]

This woman appears to have lost almost everything, but then the most important thing pops back up during the interview. Tears, you guys. Tears.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...tag%3Dfacebook

[Cinderella]

I had to stop listening to the news; I'm seriously depressed by this recent stream of tragedies. (Newtown, Boston bombing, Tornado) Momo, I don't know how you handle having relatives in Syria and all the horror stories out of there. I feel a serious lack of control over all these horrors.

I hear ya Sheherezade. I couldn't take it anymore either. I've unplugged for the most part from all news. So much horror and tragedy.

This woman appears to have lost almost everything, but then the most important thing pops back up during the interview. Tears, you guys. Tears.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...tag%3Dfacebook

WAAAAAAAAAH!

[diggitydot]

The one that chokes me up every time is the guy talking about the teacher who was laying on 3 kids. She had to be taken by ambulance with significant injuries, but the kids were fine. "Good job, teach," and then he excuses himself from the interview to go find HIS kids and because he can't keep it together.

Good lawd, that one always gets me, no matter how many times I see it.