Tornado in Oklahoma

[hikatz]

It is heartening to read how everyone is pulling together and already have a vision for the future.
I hope you keep this thread going, as you are still part of this community, so Puna related![]

[Rob Tucker]

Yeah Nancy, You are the Puna connection. Keep in touch.

[David M]

So sad to see all the destruction. Maybe we should lend then our code writers. Every building a safe room, only reinforced concrete, solid steel doors, no windows, should be a cakewalk.

David

Ninole Resident
Please visit vacation.ninolehawaii.com

[nanasohana]

Thanks you guys, and, yes, a safe room or shelter that costs a few extra thousand dollars here should be a no brainer and in Moore, I think will be a requirement for new build from now on.

[Rob Tucker]

There was a FEMA official talking on NPR about the tornado. A lot of what he said applies here in Hawaii too. The shoddy construction is/was a big problem. Considering the history of the area the is an implication that the building department is a failure there too. Perhaps that's the way Oklahoma likes it.

Shools: Unreinforced masonry kills. Hard to imagine a school built of unreinforced cinder block but that's what they found.

Homes: fairly new ones: Shot pins and cut nails instead of anchor bolts. No hurricane or roof ties.

Listening that that I am reminded how many "carpenters" don't really know much more than how to make noise with a hammer... and how "cheap" dominates the industry. I see it here on Punaweb a lot. "Whats the cheapest way to....". Only rarely does anyone ask what is the best way.

[kalakoa]

Well, yeah -- when you only make $7.25/hour, it's all gotta be "cheapest way".

[MarkP]

When one considers the death toll from earthquakes in Christchurch NZ and in Chile, deaths number in the hundreds. When earthquakes occur in Nepal, Pakistan, India, Iran and other lesser developed countries deaths number in the thousands. This is because so much un-reinforced stone masonry is employed. I think there was a school in Iran where the kids ran outside during an earthquake and the walls fell on them.

This is not to say that all un-reinforced masonry is without merit. There are ancient ruins in the Andes like Machu Pichu where stone structures have stood for centuries through many earthquakes. Of course such architecture qualifies as one of the wonders of the ancient world. We still don't know how they fit those stones so well. Basically the stones fit together so well that when disturbed they would rather fall back into place than fall apart.

The moral of the story is to work within the limits of the material, plus the ancient Egyptians and Incas didn't scrimp on either materials or manpower.

[MarkP]

There are crazy people on the net that are obsessed with tiny houses, some of which are as small as some of the more expansive safe rooms. Seems like the two camps could evolve towards each other. If I can find stories on the net of people who are cheerful about living in 100 sf, people who live in underground drainage culverts and converted water towers, people who have built their own castles with battlements and a moat, and so on, it seems like there should be someone out there who gets all excited about designing a house around a safe room big enough and comfortable enough that you will spend most of your time in it as a matter of preference.

[coppercoin40]

Why not build large shelter underneath the ball fields at schools? Seems like they wouldn't need to be far under a layer of sod and have several entries. Be large enough to hold an entire school of students/teachers. I do realize that it most likely expensive to build but fields are generally close enough to the school to quickly evacuate to.

Aging and inadequate infastructure needs to be addressed and taken care of in this country from the Big Island to the most eastern part of the US! The bridge in Washington that collasped last night is an example. I am not totally buying that a large truck hitting the bridge caused the collapse when the entire state received less than a C grade on its bridge structures. Plus trucks travel bridges all over this country with weight restrictions. Bridges should be built strong enough to withstand a major large truck crash.

Sorry - kinda went off on the Washington bridge when my purpose of posting was a suggestion for a shelter at schools! I am sure my idea isn't new so maybe it isn't a good plan or it might have been done already.

[Rob Tucker]

Currently Hawaii has shelter space good for about 20% of the population. Pahoa H.S. just got a new gym. I remember asking them if the gym would be civil shelter but don't recall that they replied.

A lesson to us would be to double check as per the building specs on Pahoa H.S. gym. I wouldn't want to shelter there if it isn't build well.
My own home is two stories of reinforced concrete and I expect it to be shelter for me and my neighbors if a hurricane hits.