Superdome and High Rises

[Guest]

Can't say much about the roof structure for the Superdome; but the head of Homeland Security for the city of New Orleans said at a news conference this afternoon that the field and much of the lower level of the stadium would be flooded. For a football game the standard capacity is around 80,000 -- he anticipated no more than 20,000-30,000 would be able to shelter there because of the flooding.

 

[Anonymous]

A wise man once said; "It's not THAT the wind is blowin', it's WHAT the wind is blowin'"

 

[Joe Nield]

I have serious doubts about the safety of those sheltering in the Superdome. Like others have pointed out, that roof won't hold up for long. I suppose some could be stuffed into the concourses surrounding the seating bowl, but that's going to seriously affect their capacity.

Nothing about this looks good.

 

[Bob Hall]

When I heard that the Superdome was to be used as a shelter, I began to do some quick research. Here are number of factoids:

In 1998 during Hurricane Georges it was also used for an emergency shelter for 14,000 people.

Opened August 3, 1975
Total Land Area (building, garages, and grounds) = 52 acres
Diameter of Dome = 680 feet (210 meters)
Area of Roof = 9.7 acres
Structural Steel = 20,000 tons (18,200 metric tons)
Air Conditioning = 9,000 tons (8,190 metric tons)
The Superdome's playing field is at street level
The floor of the Superdome is 166,464 square feet
North to South 408 feet
East to West 408 feet
Ceiling Height is 273 feet at the center
There are 354 lightning rods on the roof
A total of 450 trees are spread out over the grounds and elevated levels of the Superdome

The Superdome's roof measures 9.7 acres, off of which an enormous amount of rainfall will cascade. There is a system of gutter tubs around the roof's periphery with a capacity of 345,000 gallons. Collected rain water is fed into the drainage system gradually under normal conditions.

The failure modes associated with the structure are so numerous. I’d really like to hear any thoughts that Tim Marshall might have.

The Superdome was built on land that was a cemetery.

(I fear that the superdome=super tomb).

I wonder if they are collecting next of kin information as part of the admission process.

 

[Dan Robinson]

The Superdome situation is very worrisome. It has a wide gradual lip that protrudes around the top of the wall. Theoretically, wind could get under this and force the structure up. Or, once a single piece of debris (house roof, car, sign) punctures the wall, the wall will soon fail, wind will enter the structure at low levels and the roof will become a giant sail.

I don't think there is any safe place in New Orleans. Whether it is flooding, debris, disease or collapsing skyscrapers, all types of potential shelter are at high risk for at least one of those factors. I would not even trust a steel reinforced concrete building or parking garage. If a single high-rise building collapses, it could start a chain reaction as the wind-driven debris falls on adjacent buildings.

It's hard to visualize what this storm is capable of. I've never pondered anything like this in 13 years of chasing.

 

[B Ozanne]

A/C is out in the Superdome!

 

[MClarkson]

I also heard the toilets are out too.

Gee thats gonna be a fun place to be in about 10 hours.

 

[Kurt Silvey]

Man, a lot of doom and gloom! Have a little faith that the EM's have done their job and know what they are doing. They have planned & trained for this exact scenario for years. I personally believe most concrete and steel “modernâ€￾ structures will be fine. They will perhaps sustain superficial damage, But the engineers who designed them would have taken this type of storm into account also.

The roof on the dome is a sprayed on polyethylene foam which will hold up very well to flying debris. I believe this is installed over a metal deck welded to the steel structure.

 

[Rob_Davis]

Man, a lot of doom and gloom! Have a little faith that the EM's have done their job and know what they are doing.

Well, I would except for one little detail: EM are the people originating all the doom and gloom to begin with!

 

[Cindy Simons]

FOX reporting that "the Superdome roof is compromised" and water is falling on to the field. Not good.

 

[Miriam Lawrence]

Local station WDSU reporting "Breaking news: Superdome heavy roof problems" with a first-hand report from reporter who's there -- he's saying that 1/12th of the roof is now missing.

http://www.wdsu.com/video/4907831/detail.html