Tornado + Split level house = ?

[Jim Lahey]

I am curious about how safe the basements of bi-level houses are, where the basement is halfway in the ground and halfway above? How would these so called basements hold up in a tornado? I have seen some split-level houses where the lower level is called a "walk-out basement" but essentially it is just two feet of dirt piled up against one corner of the house.

 

[Maggie Kahman]

Well, It depends. My Aunt lives on a golf course in Omaha, and her house is like that. This isnt just any 2 feet of dirt, either. What size tornado are we dealing with here? Also; what is the path of said tornado? How well built is the house?

BTW, welcome to Stormtrack

 

[Terry Tyler]

if your talking about a house like this...then, you pose a good question...

i used to live in a pretty big apartment complex, and always wondered where the safest place really was...

considering you has a tornado about EF-2/EF-3 strength, and it hit a two story home...it might destroy the top layers and partially collapse the building...and if you were in the basement, or interior room inside a 2-story or better house...you could risk being buried alive, or worse...

i always wondered about if you were trapped in the basement, and your water-main to your water heater broke...if there was no way to cut it off, you might even drown...or if the gas mane broke, or wires snipped...you could possibly burn to death trapped in a fire...

alot of that might depend on the angle which the tornado hit you, and the intensity and structural design...ill tell you one thing though...i wouldent want to be in any house when a big tornado was heading for it...

i dont know if i answered your question...but, personally i wouldent go to the basement...IMO the best defense against severe storms is being aware of the threat and keeping in eye on the location of the storms, and warnings...and if its headed your way, and you know what your doing...do your best to get away from the area before it comes...

 

[rdale]

Terry - that's not a split level, that's a 2-story house.

i always wondered about if you were trapped in the basement, and your water-main to your water heater broke...if there was no way to cut it off, you might even drown...or if the gas mane broke, or wires snipped...you could possibly burn to death trapped in a fire...

Or if you were in the basement, and the tornado dropped a pack of rabid wolves who had been infected with a man-eating virus, and the wolves were unable to get you because of the debris, unfortunately alien invaders also picked that day to come down and it was just a mess.

On the other hand - I'll still tell people that the basement is the safest place to be in a tornado.

 

[Terry Tyler]

Terry - that's not a split level, that's a 2-story house.



Or if you were in the basement, and the tornado dropped a pack of rabid wolves who had been infected with a man-eating virus, and the wolves were unable to get you because of the debris, unfortunately alien invaders also picked that day to come down and it was just a mess.

On the other hand - I'll still tell people that the basement is the safest place to be in a tornado.

im sorry about the fact that it wasnt a split level home...but they are very similar in design, and it could face a similar problem...

Or if you were in the basement, and the tornado dropped a pack of rabid wolves who had been infected with a man-eating virus, and the wolves were unable to get you because of the debris, unfortunately alien invaders also picked that day to come down and it was just a mess.

apparently you think that this concept is unrealistic...perhaps you might want to talk to the family of a man who died on 11/15/05 when his trailer was thrown into trees and died as a result of a house fire...

The most serious damage, ranging up to F-3 intensity, occurred from Big Bear Highway to Moor's Resort on Kentucky Lake. The occupant of a destroyed mobile home was killed in this area. The mobile home was thrown 40 feet and overturned before catching fire.

being trapped in rubble is a very real possibility...

 

[Jeff Miller]

There are a million possibilities, Terry - but I'd risk those things happening in the basement then being above level and decapitated by large objects or being missle-stung by grains of dirt, glass, and others which can leave one unrecognizable. The bottom line is what is the least risk and that is your basement. You can only control what you can control. I'd bet on the basement.

On topic, this is my idea of a split level:

Im not sure its any safer down in the lower level with the glass and wind channel possibilities. I'd prefer a basement underneath the split if you ask me.

 

[Terry Tyler]

There are a million possibilities, Terry - but I'd risk those things happening in the basement then being above level and decapitated by large objects or being missle-stung by grains of dirt, glass, and others which can leave one unrecognizable. The bottom line is what is the least risk and that is your basement. You can only control what you can control. I'd bet on the basement.

i agree with you, jeffrey...

i think some misunderstood my statement...im not saying that basements are unsafe...what i am saying is, if you live in any kind of structure...there is a risk of things caving in...hence the IMO before i wrote my statement...

also, if you were aware of the storm, like i said...you probably wouldent be in any flying glass and debris if you could see it two counties away...thats just my personal opinion...i would rather drive away from the storm altogether then risk being in a structure...

 

[rdale]

It is safer in the basement - I wouldn't sit next to the windows, I'd set in an interior room.

The basement of a split-level offers more protection that the first floor of a 2-story home, that's why I clarified your differences.

And your example is of a mobile home (not safe in a tornado) being thrown about - I want an example of someone dying in the basement of their homes because they drowned from a water line break.

 

[Terry Tyler]

It is safer in the basement - I wouldn't sit next to the windows, I'd set in an interior room.

The basement of a split-level offers more protection that the first floor of a 2-story home, that's why I clarified your differences.

And your example is of a mobile home (not safe in a tornado) being thrown about - I want an example of someone dying in the basement of their homes because they drowned from a water line break.

i have not heard of any incident in which someone drown due to a broken water main...but i believe that such a scenario could be possible...

i am not saying that a basement is unsafe, or advocating anyone trying to flee from a storm...just that i wouldent want to be in the basement of a split-level home when a tornado was hitting it...

 

[Jim Lahey]

Here is an example house. The lower window is the basement window. The basement walls are cinder blocks half way up then the above ground part is wood frame like the rest of the house. There is a lot of variation on these kind of houses and I would guess the more dirt around the basement the better. Debris flying through those basement windows would be the main concern.

 

[Cris Schroeder]

I'd take a standard basement over a split-level or view-out any day, but the split-level has to be better than no basement at all. The split-level/view out floorplan is very popular around here, which surprised me a little while house-hunting. We went with the ranch/full basement layout for both houses we've built. The real estate agents think you're crazy for worrying about tornadoes, but neither the wife or I were comfortable not having a room fully below ground level.

We moved into our first house a couple of months after the OKC tornado in '98. After seeing pictures of houses scrubbed to their foundations, I was thankful we thought far enough ahead to be underground. Now I just hope we'll never need it.

 

[Tyler_Costantini]

I have always wondered how my parents split-level house would fair in a tornado. Their house just like the one shown standard 1970's construction, basically gravity and a few nails hold the house down.

The Neighbor has a real basement they can take shelter in. I still wondered if the under staircase closet / crawl space entrance area that all split-level homes seem to have would provide any protection in a tornado, or maybe that’s the worst place to be, in a small space with tons of house above you?

I know that short of a true engineering study it’s hard to tell. I would like to know what some similar homes have done in smaller EF-0 to EF-2 tornadoes.

I think most wood frame homes are stripped from their foundations EF-4 EF-5 tornadoes when hit directly. As I remember the 1995 Dimmit Texas tornado that the VORTEX team studied had stripped similar homes from their foundation. I was only 14 at the time so I may be way off!

 

[David Drummond]

Maybe Tim Marshall could come in and post on this. He would really be the expert here.

 

[Danny Neal]

This is a newer home right?? Perhaps a storm room is or could be implemented. I am getting a house on 20 acres of land in the middle of no where. We aren't building a basement(just a little storage area) but we are getting one of those storm-ready rooms, which I hear a lot of the new contractors(especially around the OKC area) put into your plans per request.

 

[John Olexa]

I would take my chances in the basement. I understand the thinking of leaving the area. BUT! Where I live, even if I had time to leave and try to drive away from it, theres lot of traffic now. On Fridays it backs up for a few miles due to a number of new traffic light that have sprung up.

So I guess as far as trying to out run the storm, it depends on where you live. Most likely would be a bad idea where I'm at.