Pointless Deaths In Oklahoma.... Again

Hell, there were entire concrete buildings completely decimated by this thing.

you don't have to live somewhere to understand something. That's a pretty juvenile comment. building methods ARE available that will withstand tornadoes. You build in or make a depression which comes to equal hight of the start of the roof. You build out of strong materials. you have a low pitched roof with no overhang. you certainly don't live in a trailer. You either build according to the natural conditions or you accept the destruction of your home when it happens. Exactly the same as here with regards to floods.

It comes down to money. there are LOADS of ways to build something that will withstand a tornado...LOADS. But this is what officials say "rendering houses as fortress-like, tornado-repelling structures does not make economic sense" They can be built but they cost too much.

16 minutes may or may not have been enough time to get to a properly reinforced structure. This would entail having a lot of things come together in a perfect manner. Factors include (but are not limited to): would driving all these kids to such a structure have meant driving them right in to this tornado? How much did the storm wobble in it's path? They don't travel in completely straight lines. How much debris was already in the air? This thing threw debris miles in to the air and miles in a radius around it. was driving in the area of the school at the time of the warning safe, given that? These are complex weather systems that we are struggling and taking great measures to understand...thank god for those storm chasers with balls of titanium or we would know even less. like I said to mike up a post or two, this was an exceptional tornado. It required extraordinary shelter. Extraordinary shelter that may or may not have been with in immediate access. In this case, I would say that as a school in an area with frequent tornadoes, there should have been an exceptional shelter in the school. The walls themselves would have withstood an ordinary tornado, but a school in a high risk area should be ready for the extraordinary.

@jdawg011 Like @xfahctor said, we didn't have "notice." And I'm offended by your "they really don't value human life there." That's like dismissing murder-victims because 'THEY don't value life enough to keep it' (neverminding that conditions put their lives a little bit out of their reach).

I think you misunderstood. I don't mean YOU or your friends don't value human life above money, but the politicians there seem to care much more about money. I think as a known tornado zone, officials should have shelter in place for school children. However, instead big oil companies receive tax breaks. Officials had advance notice, but didn't really warn the teachers at these schools. They seem to think that because it is a regular tornado zone, people could handle it? http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/05/the-national-weather-services-last-pre-tornado-briefing-warned-about-school-safety-in-oklahoma-city-region/276067/ I saw this in my local newspaper as well, and a few other places that I cannot remember online. Either way, I feel for all the people affected, and I hope people consider this during the next state election. Sorry for the misunderstanding and the offense I caused.

In a hurricane, this is true. With a tornado it's usually the concentrated debris cloud whirling at sometimes up to 2 or 3 hundred miles an hour that does the damage, though it is not uncommon for a roof to come off even with out the debris. As someone once said, it isn't that the wind blows, it's what the wind blows.