An unexplained American mystery

daveza

daveza

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http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/05/26/severe.weather/index.html

(CNN) -- Seven people died in tornadoes that blew through the Midwestern United States on Sunday, with six reported dead in Iowa and a toddler in Minnesota, authorities said Monday.


Homes demolished by a storm Sunday sit beside others showing little damage in Hugo, Minnesota.

1 of 3 Authorities in Iowa had reported that seven people died in Sunday's storm but lowered that total to six on Monday, said Bret Voorhees, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

A tornado touched down at about 6 p.m. Sunday in the north-central Iowa town of Parkersburg before moving 10 miles east to New Hartford, Voorhees said.

"All I saw was the biggest black wall in my life," Parkersburg resident Perry Bernard told CNN affiliate KCRG-TV. "I didn't think it was a tornado because it was so wide."

Jacob Smith, who witnessed the storm, told CNN affiliate KWWL-TV, said few houses were still standing.

Smith had gone to Parkersburg to check on his aunt. "They had pillars missing in the front, and they had a piece of wood go right through their bedroom," he told the station.
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Why do Americans in the midwest insist on living in wooden homes and trailer parks when they know they are in a tornado belt ? Can they actually get insurance ?

They always seem so shocked when a tornado comes through and wipes out most of a suburb. Just doesn't make sense to me.
 
Probably because thay are poor and uneducated?

Similar circumstances here, where some of the poor people live within the flood plains, and think its hunky-dory till a flood comes and washes their shack away.:(
 
I don't believe it's poverty - some of the houses untouched look rather expensive.

By and large, Americans love their wooden houses, perhaps it's cheaper to build than brick. But having them in a tornado threatened area is the same as houses with thatch roofs being built in an area frequented by annual fires.
 
Probably because thay are poor and uneducated?

Similar circumstances here, where some of the poor people live within the flood plains, and think its hunky-dory till a flood comes and washes their shack away.
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My Pa always says that the internet is largely pooled ignorance, and I'm afraid this thread proves his point.

ON CONSTRUCTION
American houses are almost ALWAYS built on wood frames, usually with face brick or vinyl siding on the outside. South African style building materials are vastly more expensive than lumber in most places because of availability.

ON SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
Not having insurance is NOT a good idea. But who wouldn't be shocked if a tornado destroyed their house? Intelligence is not an issue. Fewer poor people live in farming and other rural areas than elsewhere, although the people are not as "sophisticated."

Any other questions?
 
yes, if your in tornado belt and know your house could be wiped out

why act so shocked

why not, it was bound to happen

why would an insurance company cover ppl who in a tornado area?
i mean they would not ensure a blind man's car
 
Amerikanse said:
My Pa always says that the internet is largely pooled ignorance, and I'm afraid this thread proves his point.

ON CONSTRUCTION
American houses are almost ALWAYS built on wood frames, usually with face brick or vinyl siding on the outside. South African style building materials are vastly more expensive than lumber in most places because of availability.

ON SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
Not having insurance is NOT a good idea. But who wouldn't be shocked if a tornado destroyed their house? Intelligence is not an issue. Fewer poor people live in farming and other rural areas than elsewhere, although the people are not as "sophisticated."

Any other questions?
Click to expand...

So build your house with stronger materials because you're in a tornado belt ......... duh :rolleyes:
 
killadoob said:
why would an insurance company cover ppl who in a tornado area?
i mean they would not ensure a blind man's car
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Because they charge extra for tornado coverage.

Wood is plentiful and inexpensive and lets be realistic a brick house doesnt stand that much of a better chance of surviving a tornado - those things are powerful enough to knock most things down.
 
I beg to differ.

No way a tornado would take down a Interlinked Brick house if the windows are open and the house ventilated. Not in a 1000 years ;)
 
Pitbull said:
I beg to differ.

No way a tornado would take down a Interlinked Brick house if the windows are open and the house ventilated. Not in a 1000 years ;)
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You think leaving the windows open is going to stop a tornado from bringing down a brick house? Flying debris is going to open your window anyway ;)
 
Dem whirly winds is noo match for me and my barn :D

As one comedian said: "I dont get why people live in places called 'Tornado Alley', why dont they just move? It really isn't that hard their house is one wheels!"
 
bwana said:
You think leaving the windows open is going to stop a tornado from bringing down a brick house? Flying debris is going to open your window anyway ;)
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I saw this once on TV.

Bwana maybe you can answer this, Why do they board up the houses ?
By this I mean close the windows with boards and so forth.

A torando will make the house explode if there is no ventilation due to the air pressure difference between the torando and the inside of the house. They should leave the doors and windows open ;)

I have always found that very strange tbh :confused:
 
Pitbull said:
I saw this once on TV.

Bwana maybe you can answer this, Why do they board up the houses ?
By this I mean close the windows with boards and so forth.

A torando will make the house explode if there is no ventilation due to the air pressure difference between the torando and the inside of the house. They should leave the doors and windows open ;)

I have always found that very strange tbh :confused:
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Here's what I found
The old theory was that the drop in air pressure as a tornado hit a building caused the higher pressure inside to push the walls out - to make the building "explode."

Instead, researchers who studied the Wichita Falls tornado damage realized that wind blowing into open, or broken, windows pushes up on the roof. At the same time, wind blowing over the roof is making it act like an airplane wing that generates a lifting force. If the roof lifts off, the walls can fall outward, making it look like the building exploded.
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Thing is a tornado can form and hit pretty quickly from what I understand so boarding up doors and windows might not be feasible.
 
bwana said:
You think leaving the windows open is going to stop a tornado from bringing down a brick house? Flying debris is going to open your window anyway ;)
Click to expand...

:D

daveza said:
Why do Americans in the midwest insist on living in wooden homes and trailer parks when they know they are in a tornado belt ? Can they actually get insurance ?

They always seem so shocked when a tornado comes through and wipes out most of a suburb. Just doesn't make sense to me.
Click to expand...

How big is the midwest, how many tornados touch down in a year on average( Big enough ones to actually destroy houses) in the MIdwest and lastly how many people live in the midwest?

I'm sure once you work it all out you'd find the chance of your house actually being hit by a tornado is minimal. So yeah it would be a hell of a surprise and a case of very bad luck.
 
Last edited:
alanf85 said:
:D



How big is the midwest, how many tornados touch down in a year on average( Big enough ones to actually destroy houses) in the MIdwest and lastly how many people live in the midwest?

I'm sure once you work it all out you'd find the chance of your house actually being hit by a tornado is minimal. So yeah it would be a hell of a surprise and a case of very bad luck.
Click to expand...

BINGO. You people do realize that the "tornado belt" is twice the size of South Africa, right?
 
Just to weigh in with some additional facts that folks may not know, but which I've noticed over time, looking at construction sites of houses...

The average American house is NOT built like the average SA house. The style of building here in the US is bizarre, their houses (even the supposedly 'well built' and expensive houses) are lightweight things. Thin wooden walls, overlaid with plaster, and if you're lucky a little bit of brick MAYBE. They may look like normal houses, but the building standards are weird - the US generally speaking, doesnt have the standard SOLID brick walls that we all know. They're pasteboard or some other ultra thin building material.

So naturally they're gonna get totally trashed in any severe weather. They aren't anywhere near the solid construction of SA houses - even the lousy RDP homes have more solid brick walls.

I could probably punch and kick a hole through your average US home from one side to the other, as there isn't a single BRICK wall in the construction.
 
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