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Horrible tragedy shows how quickly conditions can change during severe weather

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jordan Hartley
  • Start date Start date
My main point is that this disaster was not caused by gust front winds, which are a routine, normally benign event in the Midwest that rarely causes loss of life or serious injury. This disaster was caused by a structure that could not resist a typical Midwestern thunderstorm event, placed in the middle of a crowd of people. Assigning the blame to a severe thunderstorm builds onto the dichotomous risk perception that the public has - there is no reason to instill or perpetuate fear for severe thunderstorms, which, in my view, get way too much credit - (I wrote a blog article on this subject back in February).

Blaming this tragedy on a severe storm is like blaming the incoming tide for destroying a sandcastle on the beach. The storm was a predictable, normal weather event for the region and time of year. The blame must go to the structure that was obviously not built to handle it.

We know from the video that the winds were likely sub-severe. So what if this storm had been smaller in scale, never reached severe criteria elsewhere and never triggered a warning? How could we, then, blame the storm, weather awareness and preparation in what happened? Had it not been for the subpar construction of the stage, this storm would have been a non-event for the Indiana State Fair, and probably would have only been a small ho-hum story on the third page of the Indianapolis newspaper, reporting a few downed trees.
 
Just as we suspected, evidently a lawsuit is being filed. Just heard on the radio that a woman who was injured in the stage collapse is filing suit. Evidently, her lawyers are arguing that the storm was forecast in advance. Can't find anymore details yet, and have no idea of the merits of her case from a legal standpoint. However, it will be interesting following this case and obviously significant to outdoor event organizers.
 
A somewhat similar tragedy just happened today in St. Louis. Gusty winds from severe thunderstorms blew over a beer garden tent at a tavern near Busch Stadium, killing one person and injuring 100 (at least 4 of the injured are in critical condition)

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_77c5505c-917e-11e1-980a-001a4bcf6878.html

Also note the quotes at the bottom of this story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/us/injuries-as-tent-collapses-in-st-louis.html?_r=1

"The (fire) chief blamed the accident in part on the construction of the tent, which he said was made of two-inch galvanized pipes covered with a “plastic-type” tarp.

“We don’t like this type of building, if you will,” Chief Jenkerson said as he stood in front of the collapsed tarp. “This gives us nightmares. And as you can see, it caused one.”
 
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