Citation

Ramseyer C, Holliday L, Floyd R. J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2016; 30(4): e04015084.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, American Society of Civil Engineers)

DOI

10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000832

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The EF5 tornado that occurred in Moore, Oklahoma on May 20, 2013, provided a rare opportunity to study the effects of multiple major tornadoes on a single community in a relatively short timeframe. Data collected immediately after the tornado indicate an ordered progressive collapse mechanism for residential wood-frame structures with slightly different progressions for low-pitch and high-pitch roofs. This failure progression indicates that a continuous load path from the roof to the foundation is the most important aspect of design and construction for tornado resistance of residential structures. Performance of homes in a neighborhood constructed using more-robust methods indicates that the damage path caused by an major tornado can be narrowed by improving the overall structural system with a series of relatively simple items. Twelve code modifications proposed by the authors to create a more-robust structural system intended to withstand winds up to 60 m/s (135 mph), or an EF2 rating, are presented in this paper. The city of Moore adopted these code changes on March 17, 2014.

Language: en