Expanding on a comment I posted on STEVEinMI diary This tornado's wounds were self-inflicted.
Granted this is from the manufacture's site, however cement domes have always seemed to me to be one of the answers.
Monolithic Dome Benefits: Survivability
Whether it’s your home, your children’s school or some other structure that you and your loved ones spend time in, nothing beats knowing that you’re in a place that cannot be destroyed by most natural or manmade disasters. That’s the confidence Monolithic Domes offer. They meet or exceed FEMA’s standards for providing near-absolute protection. Monolithic Domes are proven survivors of tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and fires.
Tornado Hits Monolithic Dome in Durant, Mississippi
2:15 a.m. on April 27, 2011
An F3 tornado, with winds between 158-206 mph, hit the small town of Durant, Mississippi, including the Monolithic Dome home and garage of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Avery.
Built in 2009 by South Industries, Inc., the Averys have a 40-foot diameter dome-home joined by a tube connector to a 30-foot diameter dome-garage. The tornado did not hurt either Monolithic Dome, but did damage other property.
Lee sent an email report:
I’m currently using a temporary computer to log onto the Internet. Hopefully, our service will be reactivated soon.
At 2:15 A.M. on Wednesday, an F3 funnel cloud passed over my house. I was watching the toilet bowl water being sucked out as the funnel passed overhead. When it went by, the water came gushing out like a fountain.
I knew the winds had to be over 100 mph because I’ve driven over 100 mph in the rain before and know the sound. I knew it was a funnel cloud because all 4 windows in my house were being hit by straight wind simultaneously.
The house survived untouched (except the leaf spatters all over the surface). The same could not be said about my 100+ year-old trees. Every one of them was sheared off or knocked over at the roots. One very large tree fell across my driveway trapping me at home for 2 days. Power and water were out for 61 hours (ice cold sponge baths 3 days straight).
Being in my house, I felt no fear about the storm raging outside. Cleanup of the trees was a mess. When I’ve got the internet restored, I’ll send pictures of the fallen trees at my house and my next door neighbor’s house.
Regards,
Lee
This is not some pie in the sky idea. FEMA is on it.
Hurricanes may have met their match.
A U.S.-based company, American Business Continuity Domes (ABC), has begun building disaster-resistant, steel-reinforced, thin-shelled concrete domes as shelters from hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters.
Federal emergency management officials said they have appropriated $50 million in Texas alone to build a series of the shelters along the Texas coast to protect residents from hurricanes.
These domes are strong enough to withstand hurricane winds of up to 250 mph, said ABC’s CEO, Peter Fedele.
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The total cost for a completely customized dome is $2.5 million. These domes are not just shells, but rather are custom-built for schools, churches, and other communities.
“These domes are very identifiable in these communities, and are usually used for secondary functions,” Fedele said. “The beauty of these storm shelters is that they can serve as gymnasiums for schools, or as community centers doubling as facilities for weddings, funerals, revival meetings, and community events. Typically they include stadium like seating.”
'Hurricane domes' rising across Texas as shelters -- and gyms.
Most of the time, the windowless building with the dome-shaped roof will be a typical high school gymnasium filled with cheering fans watching basketball and volleyball games.
But come hurricane season, the structure that resembles a miniature version of the famed Astrodome will double as a hurricane shelter, part of an ambitious storm-defense system that is taking shape along hundreds of miles of the Texas Gulf Coast.
Locust Grove, Oklahoma: Sold on Monolithic Domes
One community that got ahead of the curve. Lots of pictures of the domes.
Locust Grove, Oklahoma is a small community with just 1,200 residents. But in 2007, they passed a bond to add Monolithic Domes to their campus.
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Locust Grove is in tornado alley. The community chose Monolithic Domes because of the domes’ ability to withstand a tornado.
They're fireproof too!
An introduction to Monolithic Domes
This is an introduction video to Monolithic Domes. The Monolithic Dome, is a safe, energy efficient, beautiful structure with many advantages over standard construction. As you will see in this video, it really is tomorrows building, today.
I've always like domes.