Storm damage

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

We had a bad storm rip through here in Stilwell this morning, at first they thought it was straight line winds but now the NWS is sayin it was an EF1 tornado,

Flipped a semi truck over, blew trees down from one end of town to the other, lots of roof damage and property damage here an there to homes an businesses, power lines down and probably more damage to be found as everyone is still out inspecting,

As far as I know there were no deaths an no major injuries so far, just property damage an the coop is workin on restoring power

anyways, I’m glad no one got hurt bad, I just feel bad for the people missing a roof or having to cut their vehicles out from downed trees and anyone that may go without power cause tonight supposed to get down in the 30s so I hope they got somewhere to go for the next couple days

if y’all don’t mind please give an extra thought or prayer for those that got the worst of it

[Scott NC]

  I send a prayer Billy.  Glad you and others are ok.  One thing I don't miss since moving is the terrible storms.

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

I Didn’t get no storm damage here at the house an repair shop, other than some flooding but that’s normal here an runs off quickly in a few hrs,

I’ve been Working In the shop all day throughout the storm, it got kinda spooky for awhile here but I didn’t realize it got that bad till I started getting phone call from people checking on me and then customers started rolling in telling me about it and showing me pictures of the damage, so we got lucky here

[Daswulf]

Glad you didn't get hit hard. Praying for those that did. 

[Frosty]

I'm glad you didn't take any damage Billy, I've grown kind of attached to you so your family is in too. I say a few words with higher every time I see a weather report.

Frosty The Lucky.

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

3 hours ago, Daswulf said:

Glad you didn't get hit hard. Praying for those that did

Thank you Daswulf, im worrying am praying for those up the road

2 hours ago, Frosty said:

I'm glad you didn't take any damage Billy, I've grown kind of attached to you so your family is in too

Thank you Jerry,

after I heard it was that bad I got really worried for a bit, cause max was at daycare up north an my wife was working down south,  cell service was down for awhile so it was hard to check on everyone, but thankfully the storm didn’t hit either place they were in,

I’m very Thank full we weren’t impacted!

I’m still really worried though about those that got hit bad though, cause the temps dropping an it’s wet an cold outside, 

Every year when tornado season starts up there’s always damage here an there but it’s never been right through the middle of town before, definitely to close for comfort, I'm just really glad it wasn’t a EF4 or 5

 

[Frosty]

Being separated like that is double tough. Do you have a place to ride out a bad one, cellar or something?  They're not unreasonable priced, even Lowes and Home Depot carry them. Search, "tornado shelters," for a look see.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Glad to hear y'all are OK Billy.

That same system went through here, although no tornado's were reported but a lot of straight line winds and hail & lightening. I thought of you and your family when we were watching the weather and all the tornado warnings in your area. In the morning, I went out and ringing the anvil in the garden three times asked for everyone's safety in your area. I'm a firm believer that prayers are answered.

[Anachronist58]

Wow.  Prayers for you and all of your neighborhood. 

You and yours too, Iron Dragon...

Robert and Sheila Taylor

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

9 hours ago, Frosty said:

Do you have a place to ride out a bad one, cellar or something

We gotta place to run an take cover but no actual storm shelter, under an old bridge built in the 30s, my neighbor runs cattle under the highway through it from field to field, 

Getting a storm shelter has been one of those get around to it things, that hasn’t happened yet, 

the above ground steel ones are cheaper but I’ve heard of one getting ripped off its  foundation and carried off, when that bad one hit Joplin several years ago,

So I’ll probably go with underground concrete when we get one,

9 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

Glad to hear y'all are OK Billy.

Thanks Randy

The radio this mornin said there were a couple more EF1s that touched down across the state line so I was worried y’all might have had some damage, 

thank you Robert and Sheila

[ThomasPowers]

I've seen towns obliterated by tornados before; only structure left was the jail built of huge stones 100+ years ago.  Glad you are OK!

Now on a different note: down trees == anvil stumps and lost roofs == damaged propanels for smithy walls and roofs. (My smithy walls are dinged propanel from the hail storm of 2004---softball sized hail coming in at 90 mph according to Tech; it's roof is made from overruns when they re roofed all the schools in town and a friend was hired to "clean up the sites" after the roofers got through.)

[Frosty]

Above ground steel shelters have to be anchored properly or you might as well hide under a bridge. You're way better off crawling into a culvert under the road. If you want economy storm proof you can buy concrete road culverts for not too much, dig a ditch, plant and cover it. Personally I'd want a 20' diameter culvert about as long so I could lay a flat floor for storage, comfort and neighbors for a couple few days. In case storm debris makes help getting out necessary. All the space makes room for the neighbors so emergency services will come dig you out soon as the life and death emergencies are handled. Air handling, and sanitation is important of course. I never thought of sheltering as short term, I always thought of 2 weeks minimum.

Since living in Alaska I've had a primary target as a close neighbor, even now it's only about 25 air miles from here and it's ringed by multiple anti missile sites so the Soviets wouldn't devote a single missile. Two weeks gives 1/2 life time for the really HOT daughter elements and secondaries from a fission fusion device to cool down enough to run FAST. 

My preference was to have at least two ways in and out, long and a little twisty to limit pressure damage. 

Bomb shelters is why I've given this so much thought and what the hey tornados aren't THAT much different, eh?

Frosty The Lucky.

[Burnt Finger]

This part of Bama gets its share of powerful storms too.  I will toss up some prayers for you and your neighbors.  I lose trees and watch the creek get wider every storm season, my lower property floods and I am always fixing something, so I can relate a little.  Several towns within few miles of me have been hit really hard a few years back, with loss of life and my family members (1st responders) were there within a few minutes.  Staying safe is a combination of planning and plain dumb luck, it sounds like you have both.  I hope clean up goes well.  

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

Did some looking online at some companies here in Oklahoma, looks like the underground storm shelter’s run $3-$5 grand for a basic model an go up from there depending on how big an fancy you want it

[Scott NC]

Back on the farm we had a well pit we would jump into if it got too bad.  Just a big cylindrical hole lined with bricks.  About 8' deep.  I kept a crowbar, pick and shovel down there in case a tree or something fell on the lid.  Of course the house in town had a basement to shelter in.

[ThomasPowers]

We had a storm dump 6 inches of rain in under an hour back in Ohio.  I was working teardown for an Irish Living History Org when it hit. We started in the big tent with the 20+' Al center pole, as the lightening increased we went to a smaller tent, as it got even worse we went over to the kiddie playground and crawled into the concrete culvert that had buried there for the kids to play in.  Spent the rest of the storm watching the water rise and singing Irish Rebellion songs.

I'd go with a good sized chunk of culvert and bury it on top of the ground level if you don't have a hill.  Perhaps a "damaged" one could be gotten cheap?

[arkie]

(Written just as Thomas posted his suggestions...)

One very economical shelter for only 1 to 3 people is a concrete culvert, probably 6 ft. in diameter and about 6 ft. long.  Dig a pit, put it in vertical so the occupants can jump directly in (with a small stool to aid crawling out).  The storms pass quickly, so just hunkering down gets you below the debris field for the most part and beats being on the surface in a building.  Don't worry about a cover; it probably would be blown off.  Best used in areas like that are relatively dry like where TwistedWillow lives...TX, OK, KS, etc.

[Scott NC]

  A cover may be good for torrential rain fall that comes with most of these storms.  Plus it will keep those unaware of it from stumbeling into it and breaking their neck.  Not much to put an inside fasener on it to keep it from blowing off.  In our well pit we had to be careful of the electrics.  Not much difference getting electrocuted or blown to bits into the next county....

[arkie]

A cover is great during non-storm times, but with the winds accompanying a tornadic storm, it would have to be heavily weighted down to stay put and prevent rain from getting in.  Would you have time to get the heavy weights off?   When a tornadic storm hits, with 100+ mph winds, I doubt very seriously anyone could keep the lid down when inside.  The high winds pull a heck of a vacuum off a closed space, it's an intense low pressure system...witness roofs and homes exploding.  The culvert pit even without a cover during a storm is better than being exposed.  There is risk of injury, but it's not a commercial shelter either.  If that's all I had, I'd jump in it in a heartbeat.

[Scott NC]

 Roofs and homes torn apart have a lot of surface area.  In a hole/culvert I think a small lid with a rim around it would be managable.  Say, 3' diameter.  Even a small hole for a rope with a good knot would hold it on.  Or a clamp of some sort.  I rode out some ferocuois winds in a mobile home before.  It had straps on it but it shuddered to the point of terror.   

[Frosty]

A 6' x 6' vertical culvert sounds good. Covering it wouldn't be hard, it could pivot sideways and if it were vented there couldn't be enough vacuum develop to suck it off. The pressure inside would equalize very quickly. Bury it with maybe 6" above ground, or maybe a poured slab would be better. The curb would make it visible and if open less likely to step into. It would give the lid free space to swing open.  A heavy thrust bearing pivot and virtually anybody could open or close it. A simple catch like a dead bolt would secure it well. 

I don't like the idea of having a lip the lid insets into or against it'd be too easy to remove fingers. If the lid was an inch above the culvert it would be nicely vented, people inside could watch the progress of a storm and in an emergency someone on the outside could slip the bolt and open it without special tools. Maybe a stick or long fingers.

If debris prevented folks inside from opening the lid, even with the provided long pry bar(s) it would be easy to stick a radio antenna out through the gap or a vent hole and let EMS know where you are and your status. 

For the floor I think making it composite (non-wood) decking on a gravel dry well base would go a long way to keeping dry. Provided you don't live with a high water table of course. Brackets ram set into the walls could support roll up canvas bunks. The pipe poles could double as pry bars to force the lid open if covered with debris or even pry debris clear through the gap between lid and combing.

I think about stuff too much but an old Dylan song keeps going through my head. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_UUwsVTEZ8

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[Anachronist58]

I came in from the Wilderness, a creature void of form...

I will go for a couple of 8'ø x whatever long (lying horizontal) under my driveway. Point Loma is home to the nuclear sub base.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Billy it looks like we are both in for another rough night. Better batten down the hatches.

[Frosty]

Yeah, stay safe all you in tornado country!

Frosty The Lucky.

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

19 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

Better batten down the hatches

Thank you Randy!

Sorry Imma little late responding just now saw your post,

we had some big limbs go down but no other major damage

how bout y’all?