TORNADOES PART 5: LEARNING FROM GLOBAL DISASTER LABORATORIES

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LEARNING FROM GLOBAL DISASTER LABORATORIES PART 5: TORNADOES

Transcript of TORNADOES PART 5: LEARNING FROM GLOBAL DISASTER LABORATORIES

LEARNING FROM GLOBAL

DISASTER LABORATORIESPART 5: TORNADOES

TORNADOES

Caused by the

collision of

descending

cold and

ascending

warm air

masses

“THE TORNADO SEASON”

• The “tornado season” is late winter

through midsummer,….

• But tornadoes can happen any time of

the year and in any state when the

atmospheric conditions are right.

• Unusual numbers of tornadoes are a

consequence of La Nina, the cooling of

the Pacific Ocean, which can cause

global changes in weather patterns.

A SUPER STORM CELL CAN

SPAWN MANY TORNADOES

WINDS CAN REACH 500 KPH

(300 MPH) AT “TOUCH DOWN”

NATIONS THAT NEED TO BECOME

TORNADO DISASTER RESILIENT

• USA (especially in the states

identified as “Tornado Alley”)

• AUSTRALIA (rare, but

occasionally)

TORNADO ALLEY

TORNADO RISK MAP

WIND AND WATER

PENETRATE BUILDING

ENVELOPE

TORNADOES

UPLIFT OF ROOF SYSTEM

FLYING DEBRIS (all sizes and

shapes)

REGIONAL STORM CELLS

HEAVY PRECIPITATION AND

HAIL STONES

NO WARNING

(MUDFLOWS)

NO SAFE “SAFE HAVENS”

CAUSES

OF RISK

GLOBAL

DISASTER

LABORATORIES

TYPICAL SOCIOECONOMIC

IMPACTS

• Little or no warning; no time for

effective evacuation

• Downed trees

• Power outages

• Damaged cars and trucks

• Roofs ripped off; buildings

destroyed

TYPICAL SOCIOECONOMIC

IMPACTS

• Houses, businesses,

warehouses, shopping malls,

schools, and hospitals

damaged and/or destroyed

• Major roads blocked by debris

• Airports and train stations

closed

WE CONTINUE TO OPERATE WITH

A FLAWED PREMISE:

TORNADO DISASTERS, WHICH ARE

SEASONAL EVENTS THAT OCCUR

ANNUALLY IN THE UNITED

STATES ARE WELL UNDERSTOOD;

THEREFORE TORNADO DISASTER

RESILIENCE IS SHOULD BE

RELATIVELY EASY.

FACT: TORNADO DISASTERS ARE

COMPLEX, MAKING TORNADO

DISASTER RESILIENCE A VERY

ELUSIVE GOAL TO ACHIEVE

EXAMPLES OF PAST

TORNADO DISASTERS

THIRTY TO FORTY

TORNADOES STRIKES FIVE

SOUTHERN STATES

Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee

54 dead

FEBRUARY 5, 2008

MAP

A TORNADO TOUCHES DOWN

NEAR ATKINS, ARKANSAS

DEVASTATION NEAR ATKINS,

ARKANSAS

DEVASTATION NEAR ATKINS,

ARKANSAS

COLLAPSE OF WAREHOUSE IN

SOUTH HAVEN, MISS.

COLLAPSE OF SHOPPING MALL:

MEMPHIS, TN

FIRE IN A NATURAL GAS PUMPING

STATION: HARTSVILLE, TN

SUPER STORM CELL SPAWNS

TORNADOES; TX: APRIL 2008

IMPACTS

•WIND AND HAIL DAMAGE NEAR

FT WORTH, TX ESTIMATED AT

$35 MILLION

• POWER OUTAGES

TORNADOES STRIKE IOWA

AND MINNESOTA

Continuation of the deadliest tornado season in a decade

May 25, 2008

HUGO, MINNESOTA: DEBRIS

MARKS STORM'S PATH

PARKERSBURG, IOWA: DAMAGE

PARKERSBURG, IOWA: SEARCH

AND RESCUE

STORMS IN THE

MID-WESTERN USA

Occur Late Winter through

Spring, Every Year

Although far from the so-called

"Tornado Alley," a region that falls

generally in the southern plains of

Texas, Okla. and Kan., the greater

Midwest also experiences a large

number of tornadoes each year.

A major difference is that Midwestern tornadoes are more likely to form late at night and in colder months than those in “Tornado Alley.”

. For example, Indiana

experiences only about 20

tornadoes a year, compared

to about 52 in Oklahoma. and

124 in Texas.

LESSON: THE TIMING OF

ANTICIPATORY ACTIONS IS VITAL

• The people who know: 1) what to

expect (e.g., high-velocity winds,

rain, hail), 2) where and when the

toudh down will happen, and 3)

what they should (and should not)

do to prepare will survive.

LESSON: TIMELY EARLY WARNING

AND EVACUATION SAVES LIVES

• The people who know that they may

have little or no warning and still

can get out of harm’s way will

survive.

LESSON: WIND ENGINEERED

BUILDINGS SAVE LIVES

• Buildings with roof systems and

facads engineered to withstand a

tornado’s high velocity winds will

protect occupants and users from

death and injury.

WHEN IMPLEMENTED, THE

TORNADO “SAFE ROOM” IS A

RECENT INNOVATION THAT IS MORE

EFFECTIVE THAN THE WELL KNOWN

CELLAR IN SAVING LIVES

LESSON: EMERGENCY RESPONSE

SAVES LIVES AND PROTECTS

• The timing of emergency response

operations is vitally important for

search and rescue and provision of

emergency services to save lives

and protect property.

LESSON: EMERGENCY MEDICAL

PREPAREDNESS SAVES LIVES

• The local community’s capacity for

emergency health care offsets the

crisis caused by damaged hospitals

and medical facilities, lack of clean

drinking water, food, and medicine,

and high levels of morbidity and

mortality.