Tornado Debris Impact Testing and Masonry
May 1, 2018
Structure - Those of you who have had an opportunity to work in jurisdictions that have adopted the 2015 International Building Code (IBC) should have noticed a significant change related to mandatory tornado shelters in a significant portion of the Central U.S. For areas that use the 2015 IBC, this new requirement will impact the majority of new school and emergency facility construction spanning as far north as central Minnesota, as far south as southern Mississippi, and stretching to western Pennsylvania in the east and western Texas to the west. This area is shown in Figure 1 and is where tornadoes with wind speeds of at least 250 mph have a history of occurrence.