HeyBub wrote:
dpb wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
...
Why bury it? I doubt any storm could damage a cargo container.
You've never seen results of an EF-5 tornado, then.

Well, sure, I've seen the damage. I've not seen amy damage done by an F5 to
a cargo container, though. The wind certainly is not going to rip apart a
container nor is anything airborne by said wind going to penetrate the
walls. A storm might tip it over - maybe even move it a few feet. I'd worry
more about the cat inside the container than what was going on outside.

In the alternative to a cargo container, how about a concrete septic tank
(which is designed to be buried)?

I'm not sure what container you're thinking -- the storage containers
I'm thinking of will prevent most penetration certainly, I wouldn't go
so far as _no_ penetration or partial crushing. I'm trying to think if
there were any at Greensburg; can't recall one, specifically.

For the septic tank, unless it were reinforced which I don't think they
generally are, I don't believe they would be rated adequate although
certainly again it would stand up to a lot more than just ordinary
stick-frame construction.

I'd suggest looking at the Texas A&M site for construction guidelines;
they're about the most comprehensive I'm aware of.

We use the basement and hope it doesn't lift the entire house off...

What _can_ happen in the truly monsters is simply beyond comprehension
until one sees some of the results first hand.

At Greensburg a couple of the more incredible were a full-size
automobile deposited on the top of the courthouse (a 1900s three-story
structure w/ 10-ft ceilings high).

The second was a new JD STS 70-series combine was rolled/carried and
ended up almost eight miles from the dealership equipment lot from
whence it started. These puppies weigh 30-32,000 lb base weight w/o the
header. This one didn't have a header on it and was essentially nothing
but a rolled-up ball of green metal to look at afterwards. It was
several days before it was located it was so far from where anybody had
any thought of what might have happened to it.

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