I just read an article that reports that we are fast approaching a record for number of tornadoes for a given year with at least 110 deaths and over 1100 tornadoes so far. Just over a year ago the town of Greensburg, Kansas, was obliterated by an EF5 tornado. As I write this the eastern half of New Mexico (19 counties) is under a tornado watch. Living above ground is becoming an iffy proposition.
This brings up an interesting question: why aren't we building more homes underground, especially in areas that are prone to tornado hits. For example, why are they not rebuilding Greensburg and other tornado-ravaged towns with sub-surface or semi-sub-surface buildings? Why resort to hiding in a bathtub or running out to a storm shelter (assuming you have one) when you have only minutes worth of warning? Yes, many affected houses have basements, but many do not, and keep in mind that a number of people killed in Greensburg, and in recent events, were hiding in basements.
To my way of thinking it makes no sense to engineer a house to withstand debris hits in the 200-300 mph range when you can just put the whole house out of the firing line. Why withstand when you can avoid.
Any town that is facing the arduous task of rebuilding after a tornado hit should realistically look at building below grade. Building below grade improves the house owners chances of avoiding rebuilding in the future while saving lives in the present.
