Is there such a thing as a Tornado Proof House?

As destructive hurricanes and tornadoes become commonplace across the country, America is beginning to awaken to the fact that in this country, tornadoes maybe the thing that cities are built to accommodate - the way in Japan, earthquakes are the thing to accommodate. Year after year, we keep seeing how hurricanes and tornadoes with pretty names just come in and uproot entire towns in a matter of hours. It's about time that each one of us made up our minds that the next time we choose to build, we build a tornado proof house.

It really doesn't make any sense to build a regular house. Hurricanes and tornadoes are just so common these days. A regular built house just doesn't stand a chance in 200 km/h winds. Regular houses are built to withstand forces that are only about half as powerful. You don't even need a full-blown hurricane to see your house disappear. Even when winds attack your house that are just slightly more powerful than what it is built for, they can cause extensive damage.

If you've already built your house, and you notice that you are in an area that is known for these storms once in a while, is there a way you can tornado proof your house?

A tornado proof house is just a very strong one that's properly attached to its foundations. It's also a house that's built like a bomb shelter. The thing is, when a tornado strikes your area, it isn't just the powerful winds that you need to protect yourself against. Tornadoes are known to pick up stuff and toss them around.

If it picks up a wheelbarrow and flings it at your house, your house is going to have to be strong enough. You actually need to really build your house like a bomb shelter to protect against these things. Your roof would have to be about eight times as strong as the roof of a regular house. It's fair to say that it isn't really realistic to build a house to be tornado proof.

The best you can do is to build yourself a hurricane shelter underground. You need to do that to protect your family, you need to find a way to protect your Windows and barrage doors and so on - the weakest spots in your home.

A good strong garage door isn't just about protecting your garage and its contents. It's about protecting your entire house. When a week drive store collapses in the face of a powerful hurricane force wind, the sudden letting in of pressure will find an outlet in your entire house. With the sudden rise in pressure in your house, it'll be in what's been compared to the effect of a bomb. Your house will suddenly become pressurized and blow up.

The best you can do to tornado proof your house would be to buy the strongest garage door you can afford and to build the strongest windows your budget will allow.