Persons occupying mobile homes are highly susceptible to injury or death if the home is struck by a tornado. This study assesses (1) the shelter-seeking behavior currently being employed by mobile home residents when they are faced with the threat of a tornado, (2) the availability of tornado shelters for mobile home residents, and (3) the feasibility of using a nearby vehicle as an alternative shelter. The intent is to improve tornado safety recommendations and reduce fatalities among this vulnerable population. Mobile home residents in two regions of the United States (the Midwest and the Deep South) will be surveyed, and regional comparisons of both the availability of shelter and the shelter-seeking behavior of mobile home residents will be assessed. Non-parametric statistical methods will be used to test several hypotheses about differences in shelter-seeking behavior during disasters. Logistic regression analysis with these variables will be employed to determine whether they can be used to predict shelter-seeking behavior among mobile home residents. In addition, residents will be surveyed about their perceptions of available tornado shelter options in comparison to measured distances to recommended potential shelters. To investigate the possibility that the vehicle parked outside the mobile home may provide alternative shelter during a tornado warning, two vehicle models (a sedan and a pick-up) will be tested in a wind tunnel to determine the minimum wind speed required to lift and tip the vehicles at each of five wind angles: 0o (head-on), 45o, 90o, (side), 135o, and 180o (rear). These wind tunnel studies will provide baseline knowledge (not presently available) of the wind speed required to loft vehicles.
The National Weather Service (NWS) and American Red Cross currently recommend that mobile home residents leave the home and seek shelter in a nearby sturdy building when a tornado warning is issued. If no building is available, residents are advised to lie in a ditch or depression. No recommendation is made for locations where a ditch is unavailable. Because approximately 45% of all tornado-induced fatalities in the United States during the 1990s occurred among mobile home residents, the investigators' primary goal is to reduce the number of tornado-induced fatalities among mobile home residents. By understanding current shelter-seeking actions taken by mobile home residents, problems (such as dangerous actions taken during storms) will be identified and reported, as well as recommendations for improvements to current tornado safety guidelines given by the NWS and other agencies.
