PDH Engineer     PE PDH
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Recommendations and Technical Guidelines for Midwest Tornadoes

Credit: 21 PDH
Course Fee: $299.00

Course topics

  1. Introduction
    1.1 Purpose
    1.2 Team Composition
    1.3 Methodology
    1.4 Presentation of Findings

  2. Background on Tornadoes and History of the Storm
    2.1 The Fujita Scale and Tornado Probability
    2.2 Tornadoes and Associated Damage
    2.3 Background of the Event

  3. General Assessments and Characterization of Damage
    3.1 Property Protection
    3.1.1 Overview of Buildings Evaluated
    3.1.1.1 Residential Buildings
    3.1.1.2 Non-Residential Buildings
    3.1.2 Load Path and Increased Loads
    3.2 Wind-Borne Debris
    3.2.1 Missile Types and Sizes
    3.2.2 Wind-Borne Missile Quantity
    3.3 Personal Protection and Sheltering
    3.4 Local, State, and Federal Regulation
    3.4.1 Oklahoma
    3.4.2 Kansas

  4. Observations on Residential Property Protection
    4.1 Single Family Conventional Construction
    4.1.1 Load Paths
    4.1.2 Roof and Wall Sheathing
    4.1.3 Connections
    4.1.4 Increased Load
    4.1.5 Roof Coverings
    4.1.6 Wall Coverings
    4.1.7 Garage Door
    4.1.8 Windows and Doors
    4.1.9 Masonry
    4.2 Multi-Family Construction
    4.3 Manufactured Housing

  5. Observations on Non-Residential Property Protection
    5.1 Load Path
    5.1.1 Tilt-up with Steel Joists
    5.1.2 Load Bearing Masonry with Steel Joists
    5.1.3 Steel Frame with Masonry Infill Walls
    5.1.4 Light Steel Frame Buildings
    5.1.5 Laminated with Wood Frame
    5.1.6 Masonry with Pre-cast Floors
    5.2 Increased Load
    5.2.1 Tilt-up Precast Walls with Steel Joists
    5.2.2 Load Bearing Masonry with Steel Joists
    5.2.3 Steel Frame with Pre-cast Hollow Core
    5.3 Non-Residential Roof and Wall Coverings
    5.3.1 Roof Coverings
    5.3.2 Wall Coverings
    5.3.3 Laminated Glass
    5.3.4 Garage Doors, Exterior Doors and Windows

  6. Observations on Personal Protection and Sheltering
    6.1 Shelters
    6.1.1 Types of Shelters
    6.1.2 Use of Shelters
    6.1.3 Maintenance Issues with Shelters
    6.1.4 Shelter Accessibility
    6.1.5 Shelter Ventilation
    6.1.6 Shelter Location
    6.2 Other Places of Refuge
    6.2.1 Refuge in Residences
    6.2.2 Refuge in Non-Residential Buildings

  7. Preliminary Conclusions
    7.1 Residential Property Protection
    7.1.1 Single and Multi-family Homes
    7.1.1.1 Load Path and Structural Systems
    7.1.1.2 Increased Load Caused by Breach of Envelope
    7.1.1.3 Masonry
    7.1.2 Manufactured Housing
    7.1.2.1 Foundations
    7.1.2.2 Anchors
    7.1.2.3 Strapping
    7.1.2.4 Modules (Superstructure)
    7.2 Non-residential
    7.2.1 Load Path
    7.2.2 Increased Load Caused by Breach of Envelope
    7.2.3 Roof and Wall Coverings
    7.3 Personal Protection and Sheltering
    7.3.1 Residential Shelters
    7.3.2 Group Shelters
    7.3.3 Community Shelters
    7.3.4 Other Places of Refuge

  8. Preliminary Recommendations
    8.1 General Recommendations
    8.2 Property Protection
    8.2.1 Residential and Non-Residential Buildings
    8.2.2 Codes and Regulations, Adoption and Enforcement
    8.2.3 Voluntary Actions
    8.3 Personal Protection
    8.3.1 Residential Sheltering
    8.3.2 Group and Community Sheltering
    8.3.3 Places of Refuge

  9. References (Not included at this time)

    Appendixes
    Appendix A Members of the Building Performance Assessment Team
    Appendix B Acknowledgements
    Appendix C National Performance Criteria for Tornado Shelters
    Appendix D Taking Shelter from the Storm
    Appendix E List of Useful Websites