Unless you have been through a similar situation, it is difficult to understand the effects of a natural disaster. Our prayers are with those experiencing the devastation of Mother Nature’s wrath. While we wish we could go back in time and save those taken from us by the recent tornadoes and storms in the South, the unfortunate truth is that we can only look forward. Providing financial support, food, and physical labor is the best way to help victims and their families recover from this tragedy.
Personally, the seriousness of these situations always shocks me. It is upsetting that there are resources available to prevent this level of destruction. On the bright side, it seems that the world has begun to recognize the need for stronger houses and buildings to protect against this level of destruction. The recent earthquakes in Japan toppled houses and the subsequent tsunami swept cars through the streets and collapsed any structures that were still standing. However, the exceptions to this were newer steel framed metal buildings. The strength of metal buildings is probably why they are being used to rebuild devastated areas like Haiti, which was devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
It is understandable that in the past, with a lack of steel building design options, people have foregone steel frame buildings for more traditional wood frame buildings. Fortunately, today there are design options and paneling that make it nearly impossible to tell the difference between a steel building and a log cabin. Just look at this steel frame with wood paneling.
The truth of the matter is that no building is 100% guaranteed to withstand the brute force of the strongest hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes. However, with proper engineering, steel frame buildings can withstand winds of over 120 mph. Also, steel has a flexural strength that other building materials simply don’t have. No, this doesn’t mean your building won’t wobble from side to side. What it does mean is that when massive forces are brought to bear on a steel building, from the top, sides, or even below, the steel has the ability to absorb the force rather than break or crack. Under most conditions, a metal building will survive a storm with its structure intact. In the most severe cases, steel can bend or twist due to tornado-force winds. Even if this happens, isn’t it better to be in a building that may be warped but still standing than one that is likely to collapse?
The losses of others should not be dismissed as just another tragedy. Rather, we must learn from them and build with the strongest and safest materials that we are lucky enough to have available to us.