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Tornado Alley Residents Urged To Upgrade Homes

by Realty Times Staff

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released a list of home improvements - such as strengthening garage doors and reinforcing double doors - that it says will created almost tornado-proof homes.

The list is part of FEMA's Project Impact, a government initiative to research, develop and build disaster resistant communities.

In the case of garage doors, for instance, weaker doors often buckle during violent storms, allowing high winds inside that begin pushing up on the ceiling, literally peeling off the roof.

"We now know that there is much we can do to build stronger structures that will stand up even if they are near the direct path of a violent tornado, or even in the direct path of weaker tornadoes," says FEMA director James Lee Witt.

"Recommendations for building better against high winds is important, but perhaps the most important thing to do when in the direct path of a tornado is to seek shelter in a well-built safe room or shelter."

According to a new FEMA report, damage to residential structures from tornadoes in Oklahoma and Kansas on May 3, 1999, could have been reduced or avoided if newer building codes and engineering standards had been adopted, followed and enforced.

FEMA is recommending that:

Homeowners should have an inspector look at their garage doors, especially if it is a double-wide door, and bring it up to or exceed the code.

Mobile homes, called "manufactured homes," should be installed and secured properly to the ground with anchoring devices.

Insurance companies should offer lower rates to people who reduce their risks by securely anchoring their manufactured homes - or even better, put them on a permanent foundation.

Homeowners in tornado states should find out whether their homes meet the most recent model building codes and standards and, if not, upgrade them to the new standards.

Homes that have a masonry chimney that is higher than six feet above the roof should consider retrofitting vertical reinforcing steel in the corners to help resist high winds.

Make sure door frames are anchored strongly to the house. Double doors can be very dangerous in high winds if they are not securely fastened.

Witt said there is much residents of Tornado Alley can learn from new construction techniques being applied in hurricane prone parts of the country. On parts of the East Coast and Gulf Coast, building codes have been modified to require wind-proof construction.

In the past 10 years, the FEMA has spent an estimated $25 billion to help people repair and rebuild their communities after natural disasters. That money is in addition to the billions spent by insurance companies to help rebuild homes and businesses.

Witt emphasized that precautions do work.

FEMA notes that in the early 1980s the Anheuser Busch brewery in Northern California invested $15 million to protect its facilities from earthquake. In 1994 a major quake hit, with its epicenter only 12 miles from the brewery.

Had the structure not been quake proofed, Anheuser Busch believes it would have sustained at least $300 million damage and been knocked off line. In reality, operations never ceased and repair costs were minimal.

Published: April 11, 2000

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