Interim Guidelines for Building Occupant Protection from Tornadoes and Extreme Winds

The understanding of tornadoes and the technology of tornado-resistant design are advancing at rapid rates. These technological advances are occurring so fast that we can expect, in the foreseeable future, the development of a rational process for economically designing structures to resist the effects of tornadoes and extreme winds. The anticipated design process will incorporate considerations of tornado occurrence possibilities, building content or function to be protected, and the economics of providing various degrees of protection from the effects of extreme winds. In the interim, before a complete rational design process becomes available, current knowledge can be employed advantageously to provide immediate protection for building occupants. Current knowledge has been applied to the development of these Interim Guidelines which can provide high levels of survivability for building occupants while more refined, and more economical, design procedures are being finalized.