For more than a century, April 24 was remembered as a day when asingle twister nearly wiped Albertville, Ala., off the map. On Saturday, that number grew to two.
The town's latest brush with a tornado happened about 10:24 p.m. Saturday when an EF-3 tornado with winds up to 140 mph blew through the community in northern Alabama.
Albertville Mayor Lindsey Lyons told the media Sunday that there was, “Extreme devastation – it’s just miraculous there were no deaths.” He aerially surveyed the town and estimated at least 200 homes and businesses were heavily damaged or destroyed. Albertville was almostly completely rebuilt following a tornado on April 24, 1908.
While only a few specialty buildings are designed to withstand the direct impact of a severe tornado, good construction choices can give added protection and increase the likelihood that at least part of a home will remain standing to provide some shelter. Strengthened homes near the storm's edge would have a good chance of surviving intact or with minor cosmetic damage.
Homes in inland areas of the United States are typically held together only with nails, instead of straps connecting the roof, walls and foundation. This type of construction is commonplace in hurricane-prone areas, but should also be considered by anyone who wants to increase their property's protection from other severe windstorms. Refer to the International Building Code (IBC) and International Residential Code (IRC), developed by the International Code Council, for specific references to guides for building wind-resistant structures.
If you want to get a sense of how well your home is built, you can conduct a relatively quick inspection. Depending upon what you find, it may be a wise investment to add strapping to help tie the house together.
Look at the connection between your roof system (rafters or trusses) and the exterior walls. Pay specific attention to whether there are any straps used to connect the two. Older homes and those located in inland areas are less likely to have straps.
If your garage has unfinished interior walls or your home has a crawl space, try to determine whether the walls and floor system are anchored to the foundation. Look for bolts with nuts and washers that attach the bottom of the wall to the floor slab or foundation. Also check for any additional strapping tying the walls or wood-frame floor to the foundation.
The most economical and effective way to provide a safe place for riding out a tornado is to have a shelter that meets the requirements of the National Storm Shelter Association (NSSA) or the International Code Council’s Shelter Standard. Sample designs for shelters are also available in the guide FEMA 320.
Short of building or installing a tornado shelter, you should identify the safest area of your home. This is usually a small interior room without windows, such as a bathroom, where you can ride out the storm. Be sure you can easily access this area when a tornado threatens. The more walls between you and the outside, the better.
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