Experts challenge Home Depot building design, codes after Joplin tornado

DAVID EULITT
With pieces of its damaged roof draped over debris, Home Depot in Joplin, Mo., lay in ruins after an EF-5 tornado swept through the city’s central core on May 22.

By MIKE McGRAW

The Kansas City Star

JOPLIN, Mo. | As the monster tornado bore down on them, Rusty Howard and his two small children sought refuge in a Home Depot store.

But instead the young father, the children and four other people died when the roof came off and the walls came down, crushing them beneath a 100,000-pound concrete panel.

Within seconds the entire structure collapsed in a heap of concrete slabs, metal trusses and roofing. At least 28 other people survived, huddled in an un-reinforced training room in the back of the building.

Rescue workers found Howard with an arm wrapped around each child.



Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/25/2975177/experts-challenge-building-design.html#ixzz1QOjkse00


What happened at Home Depot: http://media.kansascity.com/smedia/2011/06/25/23/10/uUpPY.So.81.pdf

:cry: :cry:

When I think of all the things in Home Depot that could become missiles (hammers, stacks of 2x4, nails, screwdrivers, etc.) it seems like one of the last places I would want to take refuge if I had any choice.

My heart goes out to those folks.

Driving down the street and an F5 tornado is coming - seems like the nearest large building is not such a bad idea :shrug:

I hope no one thinks I was being snide in my observation.

But if an F5 finds you for a direct hit, you're likely fucked no matter where you are.

I have to admit that I wasn't following the stories out of Joplin very closely, due to the tornado that hit Minneapolis (my longtime home before I moved to the country) right around the same time.

Do you know if there are local building codes that take tornados into account? It doesn't sound like the Home Depot building was designed for tornado country.

sw

...I live in an area with heavy snow now and we had a few buildings (including a grocery store) that had their roofs collapse during a particularly bad winter.

A lot of larger contracting companies around here tend to be of the republican "too much regulation" ilk.

It's things like this that remind us that regulations can be a hassle, but also save lives.

is one of the worst places to be in a tornado. That's like tornado safety 101. Stay out of gymnasiums, large box stores, warehouses and the like. I don't blame these people however - it's instinct to find a building when a tornado is coming. Plus, not much would protect them from an EF-5 anyhow. Only an underground shelter or a basement will help you survive in that instance. Anything else is playing Russian roulette. Likely these people didn't have that choice so they did the best they could. I still maintain that all public buildings in tornado alley have a safe room or a basement as a building *requirement*. I have no idea if any of these places have such codes in place, but from what I've heard, I doubt they do. They should, it should be law.

I totally agree. The large public building where I work has a basement as well as having been built to withstand most tornados (don't know about an EF-5, they're pretty rare).

It's incredibly irresponsible to not provide for public safety in a public building.

sw

these buildings are not made to withstand a tornado. hell the walmart roofs around here collapsed under the weight of snow. the problem? bad welds by scab labor..the fix? union welders.

during the tornado.

The writer's email address is at bottom of page, I wrote him, praising this article..it is quite excellent.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/18/2959600/condition-gray-inside-the-hospital.html

You're right, that is an incredibly moving account.

Granted there were deaths there. However the headline leads one to think Home Depot's are built differently than other large structures. As a builder this is simply not the case. Many structures are built in the exact same way. Best Buy, Staples, Lowes, the list could go on and on and on.

unless they build them to withstand every weather circumstance.

spacing is always a factor and x bracing should be used fairly often to prevent collapse along with a solid brace in the front and rear of the storefronts.

it costs a lot more to add that much steel.

:sarcasm:

We're even building schools using this method. Many engineers (including my wifes uncle, who builds the damned things) will tell you that they will NOT survive a major earthquake. The structures have very little flex, and remain rigid right up until the load limits of the corner braces are exceeded. Once that happens, the box loses its rigidity and the walls simply fall over...and it's a coinflip as to whether they fall inward or outward.