Experts explain why warehouse style buildings aren’t the safest place to be during a tornado
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Tornado's swept through the Midwest Friday night killing six at an Amazon warehouse in Illinois and eight at a Candle Factory in Kentucky. These tragedies have caused experts across the area to discuss concerns on the structure of warehouse buildings during severe weather.
Dr. Sarah Orton, associate professor in civil and environmental engineering at the University of Missouri, said a lot of the warehouse buildings are tilt-up construction. "This means you cast a slab of concrete on the ground, and then later you tilt it up so you have this big strong wall the concrete. That wall is strengthened by the fact that there's a roof. So imagine like you're standing a book on the end, you can stand it there kind of stable but a little force sideways will tip it over. The roof is really preventing that from falling over."
Orton says this structure is not effective at withstanding tornado-style conditions.
"The roof is taken away because of the high winds and then the wall falls over. It works very well for normal winds. It's not designed for tornadoes, and most structures are not designed for tornadoes."
The Boone County Office of Emergency Management says, "During the period 1973 to 2020, Boone County has been included in 26 federally declared disasters, 20 of which have occurred within the past 20 years."
Chris Kelly with Boone County Emergency Management says in these warning situations, things can happen very quickly.
"They give a 10 to 15-minute warning. At that point, individuals need to have a plan before a storm strikes. Where are they going to shelter in their business? Where are they going to shelter in their home? If they're on the roadway, what is their plan are they going to pull off and get into a ditch or are they going to stay see belted, cover themselves with a coat," Kelly said.
The Amazon site got a tornado warnings between 8:06 and 8:16 p.m. and the tornado hit 11 minutes later at 8:27.
In situations where the building that you are in does not have a safe room or a basement to take shelter, Kelly said there are still steps that people can take within their home.
"Putting as many walls around you in the center part of your structure that you're residing in or working in, preferably getting low to the floor, covering yourself with a jacket, or a blanket, a pillow, and covering specifically your head, and protecting yourself from that debris," Kelly said.
Illinois Governor, J.B. Pritzker, suggested that existing building codes might not be enough to combat the risks posed by dangerous storms. He said an investigation will look into updating the rules, given “the climate change we’re seeing all around us."
