Safe buildings save lives.

The tornado that struck Moore in Oklahoma, USA 2 days back killed 24 people including 9 children, 7 of them in Plaza Towers Elementary School. The tornado packed wind speeds of 200 miles per hour, was 1.3 miles wide and continued for 45 minutes leaving a 20 mile swathe of destruction. This city of 55,000 people lies in, what is known as, tornado alley because of the frequency of these weather events. On 3 May, 1999 a tornado with wind speeds of 318 miles per hour or 512 km per hour, the fastest ever recorded on earth, hit the city killing 36 people. There were tornadoes in 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2010. After the latest tornado the city looks completely flattened with wooden boards sticking out like matchsticks. Survivors talked about doors and windows being blown out and being showered with shards of glass. That is the most amazing thing. If this city is known for such violent storms why are the homes built with wood and not with cement and concrete. Wooden houses would probably be cheaper and quicker to build and, wood being non conductor of heat, would be cheaper to air condition. But if they keep getting flattened on a regular basis then surely new homes should be made of stronger materials with wire glass windows to resist shattering. Americans are known for their ingenuity and innovations so there must be some reason why they keep building houses with wood and why insurance companies, who have to pay out billions of dollars in compensation, do not insist on more durable construction. It really is a puzzle. Japan has earthquakes everyday and has designed its buildings to resist tremors. In 2011 a 9 magnitude quake struck 70 km off the coast of Sendai sending a tsunami wave 40 meters high. No one died of the earthquake but the tsunami killed more than 5,000 people. News videos showed the violent shaking of buildings but no one was panicking. Supermarket employees were trying to stop bottles and cans falling off shelves rather than run outside to save their lives. If the Japanese can build tall buildings which can resist severe quakes surely the Americans should be able to build stronger buildings to resist tornadoes, at least public buildings such as schools and hospitals. The 2001 earthquake in Gujarat was of 7 magnitude and killed 20,000 people, injured another 167,000 and destroyed 400,000 homes. The biggest killer in India is corruption. Delhi, which is in a grade 4 earthquake zone, is full of unsafe buildings. Owners have added extra floors without proper foundation, to get more rent. Municipal officials have been bribed. Only God can save us from disaster.