Today is the last day of Alabama’s “Severe Weather Awareness Week” (Tennessee’s campaign is later this month), and the final topic for the week set by NWS Huntsville is “Resiliency”. Resiliency is defined as the ability or capacity to recover quickly from difficulties and hardships, or “toughness” against those hardships. While some of the stats and specific maps you see in this post specifically show Alabama, the information applies to everywhere in our viewing area, including southern middle Tennessee. In the Tennessee Valley, we are uniquely at the intersection of a statistical and climatological high risk of severe storms and tornadoes compared to some other areas of the country, juxtaposed with a more evenly spread out population across non-urban areas and a high percentage of the population being located in mobile homes in those rural areas. This puts a large portion of our area’s population at substantial risk when major storms occur.
Using the Alabama statistics as an example since we have them for a visual aid, due to the statistical frequency of tornadoes per square unit of distance in especially the northern half of Alabama (it’s similar in southern and middle Tennessee) and the number of residents in mobile homes in those same areas, a mobile home in the state of Alabama is FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY to be struck by a tornado than in the state of Kansas! Add to that the fact that 54% of tornado fatalities within homes happen in mobile homes, despite only 6% of the U.S. housing stock being comprised of them, and that complete destruction of a mobile home usually happens with LES STHAN HALF of the wind load it takes to carry out complete destruction of a permanent, site-built home, it is easy to see the danger that is presented!
While there is no way to make mobile homes completely safe during tornadoes and high wind situations, there are some steps that can be taken to at least make it a little harder for their structural integrity to fail in lower-end tornadoes and marginally severe-criteria wind events. These are typically the type of marginal severe storms or low-end spin-up tornadoes that can occasionally happen with little warning due to their short-lived nature. Their quick-developing nature and their ability to sometimes happen without warning can sometimes leave mobile home residents with little to no advance notice to seek more sturdy shelter elsewhere before they happen. More sturdy anchoring of the mobile home to its foundation, such as to adhere to Zone II building codes, and regular inspection and needed repairs to that anchoring can reduce the potential for mobile homes to slide laterally (sideways) off their foundations during high winds. The upgrade process from Zone I to Zone II type anchoring is often less than $1,000. However, it must be stressed that once winds start getting into the 100-120+ mph range, especially when coupled with the upward lifting mechanisms of a tornado, there is very little that can be done to maintain the structural integrity of mobile homes, and once you get into EF2+ tornado intensity, a tornado will shred a mobile home apart no matter how well it is anchored to its foundation. Mobile home anchoring is NO SUBSTITUTE for having an established safety plan for seeking shelter in a sturdy structure elsewhere, but improving anchoring can help improve mobile home survivability in those lower-end tornado and wind situations that can occasionally happen without warning.
Even in site-built permanent housing, however, it is important to focus on advance preparedness of not only your sheltering options but also minimizing damage potential as much as possible for not only your property, but your neighbors around you from things found on your property. Things like trampolines, movable carports, patio furniture, etc., can be carried off your property in high wind situations and cause damage next door. Properly anchoring and protecting these items can significantly reduce that risk. Doing simple thing like keeping trees and limbs away from your home and power lines and doing a regular inspection and any needed repairs of your roof can reduce risk of damage to your own home. Taking steps to have a safety plan in place ahead of time and doing routine basic maintenance of your property and making sure outdoor items are properly secured can do a lot to control the amount of damage that is possible at your home in most severe weather situations!
