Stay out of Rowlett

[Frank]

I am in grieving state of "anger". I am acknowledging it publicly so I can deal with it and move on, so forgive what is about to sound like I'm just bitching. I feel like after my experience over the past few days, being down in the thick of it, some of these volunteers need to chill. I get that they mean well and I know what it feels like to standby helpless wanting to do something. I just hope they are this eager to help in a few weeks or months. Some things I've seen, people seem to be cleaning out all the stuff in their closets and garages they were about to do anyway and dumping it at sites as donations is overwhelming. Its right at post Christmas time, people are likely already in a mood to be giving likely has some influence in that. All of that is great, but the real help at this point needed is sorting and organized distributing of items IF they are needed. I see people doing stuff that makes them feel good to help, but is bringing no benefit to the people. People are going to need back-to-school stuff all over again. Eventually grass will grow and lawn care will be needed and the people have lost their equipment. Some pets need to be fostered for probably several months because their new housing wont allow pets. Flats will be more common for a long while.

If a house was already uninhabited before the storm, there is no point leaving anything there, much less perishable food, but I have seen it. If a house has a red tag, there is absolutely no one staying there and there is no need to leave things. If no one is home, don't leave things. Right now its all the insurance adjusters and contractors on the streets doing what they need to do. Not a lot of homeowners in those homes and the ones that are, they probably didn't suffer a lot of loss. There are losses and needs in Red Oak/Ovilla I hear. Lavon, Wylie, Farmersville, Copeville, and maybe other places that are not getting the help they need. When I go out next, I am going to help in those areas and advise taking donations there. Unfortunately they have not communicated their needs as well. I saw this today: Collin County is seeking volunteers to help with debris removal of other tasks.
While we cannot formally make this a CERT response anyone who wishes to help out Saturday and Sunday should go to Best Community Center located at 154 South Main Street in Farmersville.
The Volunteer Center opens at 9:00 AM.

[68RR]

Operation BBQ Relief is a nice charity to donate to. They're out there cooking 5,000 meals a day for the victims and volunteers cleaning up.

https://operationbbqrelief.org/

Thanks much guys! Info will be passed on!.

[TexasPyro]

Frank, and anyone else in the area...I have a couple friends who would like to donate funds but don't want to give to the Red Cross.. Any legit local outfit they can contact that you can recommend??

Operation BBQ Relief is a nice charity to donate to. They're out there cooking 5,000 meals a day for the victims and volunteers cleaning up.

https://operationbbqrelief.org/

[Forever_frost]

I was actually looking at those domes but for now it looks like I'm back to savign for my Titan 2 Missile Silo

[Ruffdaddy]

Has there been anything designed yet that can withstand a F5? I'm thinking if something that powerful hits, it really doesn't matter how well your house is anchored, it's matchsticks.

[John -- '02 HAWK]

earth ship house

A lot of the the earth ship movement is about reusing items, and utilizing earthen berms for support. Because of this most of the houses are built in desert areas that dont have bed rock and hard clay inches beneath the soil. They are also built outside of city limits to avoid having to be built to any code.

the design concept is fairly valid but everything else is pretty suspect

[John -- '02 HAWK]

Has there been anything designed yet that can withstand a F5? I'm thinking if something that powerful hits, it really doesn't matter how well your house is anchored, it's matchsticks.

yes there are designs and materials but the reason they arent used are the cost, aesthetic compromises, and there is a higher cost for the builder as the materials often require specialized tools and manpower

[juiceweezl]

PM in coming

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

Replied.

PM sent

I didn't receive anything if this was for me.

For those of you wanting to know more about building in tornado areas, go read this.

http://www.strongtie.com/ftp/bulletins/T-C-TORNADO15.pdf

It tells you tons, but really only applies to new construction or extreme retrofits/remodels.

[svauto-erotic855]

Has there been anything designed yet that can withstand a F5? I'm thinking if something that powerful hits, it really doesn't matter how well your house is anchored, it's matchsticks.

Ask Bilbo Baggins about that or build an earth ship house if you are really worried about it. I believe that type of construction would be as resistant as one could make a home on a limited budget without it basically being a missile silo.

[Ruffdaddy]

Yeti coolers

Lol...solid response. Off to get all the yeti stickers for my house now.

[mstng86]

Has there been anything designed yet that can withstand a F5? I'm thinking if something that powerful hits, it really doesn't matter how well your house is anchored, it's matchsticks.

Yeti coolers

[Forever_frost]

Has there been anything designed yet that can withstand a F5? I'm thinking if something that powerful hits, it really doesn't matter how well your house is anchored, it's matchsticks.

[Tremor14]

PM sent

[John -- '02 HAWK]

most likely because you will still pretend to act like you know what you are talking about and use one of the 3 "effects" you like to throw around.

Please take your grudges else where, if you dont have anything meaningful to add

[Tremor14]

most likely because you will still pretend to act like you know what you are talking about and use one of the 3 "effects" you like to throw around.