Tornadoes and Basements
Does everyone who lives in a place where there are tornadoes on a fairly regular basis (I'm not talking tornado alley) have a basement? Is it mandatory to have one in a tornado-prone area? I'm a wimp because I come from Southern California where, yes, me might have mudslides and earthquakes and fires, but no tornadoes. Now that I live in Virginia and we had Tornado Warnings all throughout the night last night, I was wondering why our house doesn't have a basement. In the time I've lived here (less than 2 years) there have been probably 8 storms that have gone through that have produced tornadoes or at least warnings. And, if you don't have a basement, what have you done when a tornado has come close? (I am very tired, as I was watching the weather news until all the warnings had expired.) |
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| I live in Alabama, which also tends to have quite a few tornadoes. We do not have a basement, but we do have a "community" storm shelter across the road from us. We have only had to use it a couple of times, as we are usually lucky enough for them to stay just North of us. It is comforting to know that we have a place to go, just in case.
Watching the weather, with Dennis headed our way, we may have to use it this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't. |
| Hi!
I'm in MN- and we do have several tornadoes each year- not as many as those who live in the central part of tornado alley- but enough to know about tornado safety. I personally insisisted when we purchased our house, that we have a basement for our families safety. Most single family homes in MN have basements. I beleive that our trailer parks have to have tornado shelters dug into the ground for safety... I'm not 100% sure though. However- my folks live in a townhome, where that is not really an option. They have a "tornado closet". This is basically a steel reinforced closet in their unit designed specifically to withstand tornado damage. Most of the time it is just where they put the dog food, trash, etc- but if there is ever a bad storm, they can go in there, lock the door- and they're safe. If you are really concerned about tornadoes in your area- you could call a contractor, and talk to one about putting a tornado closet in your home- it'd probably be easier and cheaper than trying to dig in a shelter! Otherwise- for those who live in apartments, or have homes whith no designated tornado safe area- you can go into a central hallway, away from sources of glass such as windows or mirrors. Taking a blanket with you to cover yourself, pets and family members can help you avoid abrasions and injury should the windows blow out. Same thing goes for straight line winds- which we actually get more often, and can be just as dangerous, if not as exciting to look at. And don't forget your flashlight and battery operated radio- to let you know how the storm is progressing, should the power go out! Anyone else have some tornado safety advice? Hope everybody is having a safe, storm free summer!!! Karen  |
| Growing up in Michigan, we had basements...In AZ we dont have tornadoes, but where my sister lives in Tn, they get lots of them..they dont have a basement, so they use the closet under the stairs, they also got some tornado electronic warning thing that they keep plugged in by the bed, so if one hits at night they will be able to get to the closet..it has come in handy more than once!! Last summer a 100 yr old tree 2 streets away was totally uprooted...they lost some shingles but that was it....Thank God!! |
| Yeah, see I want one of those devices to alert me when a tornado is coming...I mean, how would I know if I was asleep? We don't have tornado sirens or anything.
Our plan is to go into the downstairs bathroom which is basically the center of the house (no windows or anything). It is just so scary (of course my fiance was sound asleep almost the entire time and he woke up once when I was watching the tv (on mute) for our county that was having the tornado warning and was wondering why I was still up and watching it...I was like...um, it's headed our way!! I guess the main time we get tornadoes (at least as far as I can tell) is when the remnants of these hurricanes or tropical storms go through...and since it has been active lately, I guess that's why there have been more tornadoes...  |
| I live in Mississippi, which also sees it's fair share of tornadoes. We're under torndado warnings A LOT, but living here for nearly 26 years, I've only seen an actual tornado on the ground once & two funnel clouds in the air. Our water table is too high for basements, so some people have storm shelters. Most people have nothing. We don't have anything...when our tornado sirens go off, we get into our hallway with a mattress. Many new houses being built have a "tornado safety room" which is what the previous poster described. I keep telling my hubby we need to build a new house, but he won't listen yet - lol
Betsy - I'm with you on Dennis. He's scaring me - strong hurricane! |
| Gail-seems like we have had entirely too many hurricanes in the past 9-10 months. First Frances, then Ivan, then Cindy earlier this week and now here comes Dennis. I am afraid that Dennis is going to pack much more of a punch than any of the other three though. We have a hunting camp about 30 miles South of our home and I am really worried about it. We had beetles get into 2 40' pine trees last year that are about 12' from the house and we have not had a chance to bring them down. I'm afraid that Dennis will bring them down for us, on top of the house.
Just heard that the coast of Alabama has been issued a mandatory evacuation. Let's just say our prayers that with this much warning that no one will be injured or killed. Betsy |
Does this help?? 
Tornado Safety: Spring is tornado season. The national Weather recommends taking these safety measures: 1. In the event of a tornado, lie down in a ditch. If you are already in a ditch, do not attempt to sit up. 2. The most important thing is to stay calm. This will be difficult, since you are almost certainly going to die. 3. Tornados spook easily. Firing a few warning shots into the air is usually enough to scare them off. 4. Live a little: Strap yourself to the roof of your house and rage at the heavens. 5. Prevent tornados before they happen. Make sure that warm, moist air fronts do not converge with cool, dry ones. 6. During a tornado, the only safe place is in my loving arms. Come here baby. 7. If a tornado strikes your home, even your basement could be dangerous, so construct a basement for your basement. 8. If you spot a tornado, always remember to point at it, yell "tornado!," and run like hell. NOTE: (this is obviously a funny)...but the destruction of tornado's and hurricanes are not. I don't have the first clue what we'd do if we had a threat of a tornado...they do happen here but usually in the out lying areas of the city. |
| He-he Daisie, I needed a little laugh. So far, the only manditory evacuation here is for people living mobil homes (those are tornado magnets) and anyone living in low lying areas. The county south of me just issued voluntary evacutions for anyone living on a barrier island (like me). I spent a good part of the day stowing stuff in the garage...
Luckily, I have friends with a generator! They said "if you come, bring Sam's crate". We can live with that! |
| Living in central Oklahoma, we have SEVERAL tornadoes each year. Oklahoma is also not a place that built basements, so some have storm shelters some where on their property, some have used the government money from the May 3rd tornadoes, to build the nice ones that go in your garage, that can also serve as an oil changing station. If the tornado is small, we get us and all of the pets in a small room with a mattress over us. If it is a larger one, we have our choice of several neighbors with shelters that withstand the F5 tornadoes. We need to pick the neighbor with the largest shelter, who is also a pet lover. I don't think many will appreciate 2 big dogs, and (ahem, lets just say several cats....LOL)
If you keep an eye on the weather and which way the tornado is going, many people just pack up in the car and leave until the storm passes. Two days ago, we had storms with straight line winds that were 90-125 mile an hour winds, they said was equivalent to an F1 tornado. Things that were on the west side of the yard, was on the east side of the yard, by the time the storm was done, and Jack and Annie hid the entire time. I don't like the tornadoes, but I guess it is just a trade off from earthquakes and hurricanes. CJ and I would like to start working towards buying land to build our own home. I hope that we can find an area and a builder with experience to have a full basement. When I lived in PA and MO, all the homes seemed to have basements. I guess the good ol' Oklahoma red dirt, might not support basements.  
Stormi and co. |
| I live in Kansas which is in the middle of tornado alley. Our house has a basement, as did our previous house. Fortunately, we haven't had to use it yet this year. Several tornado warnings but nothing in our immediate area. My brother's apartment was destroyed by a tornado a few years ago. He walked away unscathed -- unreal considering the horrible damage all around the area. |
| Daisie, that was AWESOME! 6 and 8 were absolutely a riot!
That being said, we don't have a basement in this house. It's a split level so we have the "lower level". It's half below grade so the safest spot is the close that our water heater is in. Reinforced concrete block and all that. Although it always seems like I'm working when we have weather alerts. When I was younger, 2 of my aunts from Washington State came to visit us. There ended up being a tornadoe watch when they were here. As soon as the bulletin came across the tv they packed their suitcases and went to sit in the basement. This from people who have lived through multiple west coast earthquakes! |
| Your aunts may have been correct. It's fairly easy to spot a storm system and funnel or actual tornado in the day time, but night.....oooh, not so easy. I remember one gentleman telling me how his grandmother slept in the root celler/storm shelter........unattached to the house.......every night during tornado season. This was long before weather spotters, storm chasers, Doppler, etc.
You guys have more guts that I do. I live where there are not earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes or tornados. Dull huh? |
| Oklahoma is very known for their strong Southerly winds, but it isn't our fault.
Kansas sucks and Texas blows!!! LOL
Sorry  Couldn't resist!!
Stormi and co. |
My aunt attended college in washington, and dated a guy from there, they came to visit my grandmother who lived in a mobile home at the time, a tornado had been spotted and this person decided he was going to stand infront of the large sliding glass door, because he had never seen one before  |
| Let's see:
1. mobile home 2. glass door 3. tornado 4. clueless I guess the thought of being sliced to ribbons by flying glass, rammed through by a 2x4 traveling 150 mph, or crushed in a collapsed mobile home never entered his mind? Assuming he had one....... |
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