When a tornado passes over a house, will the ceiling of the basement be sucked upward or cave in?

Question

I'm in Illinois, and there have been lots of tornado watches/warnings lately, and I was wondering what really happens if, during a tornado, you're in your basement. If the tornado goes over your house, will it suck the roof upward? Will the roof eventually cave in? Could people in the basement be sucked up if the roof is sucked up?

And how long would the tornado be over a single house? And can they come around a second time?

Answer 1

You cannot predict what a Tornado will do. I live in Tornado Alley and have experienced 7 Tornadoes . . . 1 direct hit by an F-3. The winds do the weirdest things I've ever seen. A tornado can do either-or. One Tornado I was in destroyed the house next to me and only tore 1 shingle off our roof. There is no way to predict the actions of a Tornado. If it can stick a piece of straw through an Oak Tree, It can do anything to your basement roof. However, I think the most likely threat to the foundation of your home (your basement roof) would be falling debris coming through. Thank God they only last for a few seconds.

Answer 2

I guess it makes you die by suffocating during its dramatic vaacum and pressure change, so keep at home a cilinder of medical oxigen when it hits your home, put on its mask imediately.

It supplies you with 10 minute normal pressure of oxigen, no tornado- lung bleeding, no death.

Answer 3

First of all tornadoes don't suck, they're not like vacuums. The roof from a tornado will either be blown off or destroyed from flying debris. Remember the wind isn't what causes all the damage its what's in the wind that kills people. Imagine a car or your computer mouse flying at you at 200-300 mph, it will prove fatal. The basement is the safest place but remember to hide under something sturdy as some debris could collapse right on top of you. But even if a tornado passes over your house and your in your basement the chances of you surviving are still very good.

I've seen tornadoes pass over houses in seconds, although there are some that are wedge like, which means their as big as they are wide. A tornado that's a mile to 1 1/2 miles wide can take minutes to pass over which may seem like an eternity for people in its strike zone. Tornadoes can also change directions without notice. Now the same tornado hitting a house and coming back to that same house would be extremely rare. But other tornadoes forming behind it can happen which could cause more damage to that home.

Also multiple vorticies which is like a tornado inside a tornado can cause a significant amount of damage as well. Oh and you need to check out these videos, you'll never see anything like it! The first video answers your question. The second one shows just how dangerous flying debris is.

Answer 4

Neither actually. If the house takes a direct hit, the house's outer walls will collapse on it once the roof is torn off and THAT will collapse the basement ceiling.

Direct hits are rare -- wind from an indirect hit may tear the roof off, but the tornado itself moves so fast, the basement is fairly safe. If you're in a building that has no basement, go to the inner most part of that building that has walls close together (like a closet or bathroom) and get down on the floor. Cover yourself with blankets or mattresses to protect yourself from falling debris.

Tornados usually don't turn around for a second go -- they move along in a fairly straight line, maybe wiggling one way or the other, but don't turn around. You MAY get hit with a SECOND funnel right behind the first-- some BIG storms have multiple tornados in them.

Answer 5

yes they go usually go in a direct line.  get a mattress and blackets to cover you for falling debrie.  

be as prepaired as possible.  we are not used to this kind of things in Ont