Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 1 of 2 1 2 >
Topic Options
#122337 - 02/02/08 06:21 AM Big list of tornado shelters
beadles Offline
Member

Registered: 04/09/06
Posts: 105
Loc: Richardson, TX
Just perusing through glocktalk.com, found that they've added a survival and preparedness forum. One of the forum stickies is this long list of tornado shelters.

http://glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=623076
_________________________
John Beadles, N5OOM
Richardson, TX

Top
#122342 - 02/02/08 07:39 AM Re: Big list of tornado shelters [Re: beadles]
oceanside Offline
Stranger

Registered: 01/08/08
Posts: 8
Loc: Miami, Florida
interesting




Top
#122355 - 02/02/08 03:06 PM Re: Big list of tornado shelters [Re: oceanside]
Leigh_Ratcliffe Offline
Veteran

Registered: 03/31/06
Posts: 1355
Loc: United Kingdom.
I've always wondered of these things would survive the funnel of the tornado going across them.

Anyone?
_________________________
I don't do dumb & helpless.

Top
#122361 - 02/02/08 03:51 PM Re: Big list of tornado shelters [Re: Leigh_Ratcliffe]
Hacksaw
Unregistered


From what I understand there's not a lot of turbulence at the extreme tip of a tornado...it's sort of like the eye of a hurricane. The last hurricane that came through here was a long time ago but when it did I remember reading about houses that were completely shredded but the basements were still intact with books still on bookshelves and very little disturbed.

Even if that's completely wrong these things look HEAVY and they're completely buried.

Top
#122362 - 02/02/08 03:51 PM Re: Big list of tornado shelters [Re: Leigh_Ratcliffe]
Art_in_FL Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 09/01/07
Posts: 2432
Originally Posted By: Leigh_Ratcliffe
I've always wondered of these things would survive the funnel of the tornado going across them.

Anyone?


Hey ... I'm an anyone.

I understand that these types of units are intended to be buried so that only the hatch at the top is exposed. And it only to vertical forces. Put something mostly underground and you gain quite a bit on surviving a tornado. Laying in a ditch or climbing into a culvert are classic ways to survive a tornado. this looks to be an up-scale and modernized version of the old farmers standby, the root cellar.

Good protection because it is pretty hard to break dirt.

Top
#122363 - 02/02/08 04:02 PM Re: Big list of tornado shelters [Re: Leigh_Ratcliffe]
MoBOB Offline
Veteran

Registered: 09/17/07
Posts: 1219
Loc: here
Leigh,

It's not likely the direct passage of the funnel over these shelters would pull them out of the ground. The lateral pressure of the tornado is what causes the debris field to be created. Since these shelters are buried the surface area exposed to the wind is relatively small. My only suggestion if someone was to install one of these would be to have a hydraulic jack of considerable strength and some 4X4 lumber stowed in the shelter. If the debris from the tornado is piled up on the door there is every possibility that you may not be able to open the door. The jack and lumber would allow egress.

My thoughts...

_________________________
"Its not a matter of being ready as it is being prepared" -- B. E. J. Taylor

Top
#122386 - 02/02/08 08:53 PM Re: Big list of tornado shelters [Re: MoBOB]
Leigh_Ratcliffe Offline
Veteran

Registered: 03/31/06
Posts: 1355
Loc: United Kingdom.
As I understand it: The air pressure in the funnel is a lot lower than on the outside. Not zero pressure but low enough to kill. So what happens if the tornando bullseye's the hatch?


Edited by Leigh_Ratcliffe (02/02/08 08:54 PM)
Edit Reason: spelling
_________________________
I don't do dumb & helpless.

Top
#122399 - 02/02/08 11:58 PM Re: Big list of tornado shelters [Re: ]
UTAlumnus Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/08/03
Posts: 1019
Loc: East Tennessee near Bristol
The ground water level needs to be checked when looking at one of these. Levels high enough will push even a concrete tank out of the ground.

Top
#122408 - 02/03/08 12:41 AM Re: Big list of tornado shelters [Re: beadles]
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
Is it just me, or do most of those shelters closely resemble septic tanks?

Sue

Top
#122418 - 02/03/08 01:11 AM Re: Big list of tornado shelters [Re: Leigh_Ratcliffe]
RayW Offline
Addict

Registered: 12/06/01
Posts: 601
Loc: Orlando, FL
Leigh, There is a pressure differential, but it is not in and of itself lethal. The lethal part of a tornado is flying debris. This seems to be one of the myths of tornadoes like opening the windows on your house to allow the pressure to equalize quickly. When opening the windows on a house would allow high speed winds into the structure and help blow the house apart.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado

Tornado myths are about 3/4s of the way down the page.

Top
Page 1 of 2 1 2 >



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, cliff, Hikin_Jim 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
0 registered (), 324 Guests and 6 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:21 PM
Zippo Butane Inserts
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:11 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Using a Compass Without a Map
by KenK
02/28/24 12:22 AM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.