I wonder if the Cat-5 netting that was designed for hurricanes would have helped?
http://stores.ebay.ca/Madden-Industries
I guess any sort of a wind break that reduces drastic pressure variations, would be useful in those conditions.
We don't get tornado's here, but once, or twice a year when the wind direction is from the north or south, we get wind storms that can topple large trees, (the sandy clay type soil is kind of loose, so that likely doesn't help matters), or breaks the upper part of the tree off sending it a couple of hundred feet or so. Fortunately, most people keep the branches of the trees on they're property thinned so the wind doesn't have as much of an effect and theres seldom any injuries from the wind storms.
When I hear about the destruction caused by the tornado's in tornado alley, (including the part that runs up into Canada), and about the hurricanes, I always wonder if there wasn't something that could have been done to reduce the devastation and loss of life. Maybe that Cat-5 netting would help? Or maybe theres some more affordable DIY idea, (for those who don't have thousands of dollars to spare), that could be used using other materials, such as layers of common fishing nets?
Just my thoughts on the matter. I just hate to see people loose everything they worked hard for, (been there myself), not to mention the loss of, or injury to friends and relatives.
F.
I've seen F3 tornadoes, F5? beyond imagination. Thoughts and prayers to the families of Greenburg.
For those of you who haven't seen the devistation you need to go to www.hdnews.net! Go to almost the bottom of the page where you see the pic of a blue semi and a headline about a Hayes resident riding out the storm in his sleeper! This guy is truly lucky and he took 200 something pics of the destruction!! Most of the pics are of one of the Largest John Deere Dealers in KS. This equipment is big and weighs alot and the Tornado threw it around like toys in a sandbox. Almost all the Combines you see mangled in the pics are brand new and cost around 200 to 400 thousand dollars each!! These machines are now scrap metal! I live about 70 miles from there and I have two co-workers that have parents who lost there house and pretty much everything!! We had several people go down and help them and they came back and said pictures do not tell the story at all of what happened! All animal life pretty much does not exist there...no birds singing very few pets are still around or alive!! Reports of livestock roaming around in pain with 2x4's stuck in them ...it is just an awful, awful situation. 
