The Fujita Tornado Scale, more commonly called the “F Scale”, has become the recognized scale for estimating wind speeds within tornadoes based upon the damage done to buildings and structures.

Here’s a list of the various classifications:

Category FO — Gale Tornado Category 40 – 72 mph
Light damage: some damage to chimneys, breaks branches off trees, pushes over shallow-rooted trees, and damages sign boards.

Category F1 — Moderate Tornado Category 73 – 112 mph
Moderate damage: The lower limit Category 73 mph– is the beginning of hurricane wind speed, peels surfaces of roofs, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, and moving autos pushed off roads.

Category F2 — Significant Tornado Category 112 – 157 mph
Considerable damage: Roofs torn off the frames of houses, mobile homes demolished, boxcars pushed over, large trees snapped or uprooted, and heavy cars lifted off ground and thrown

Category F3 — Severe Tornado Category 158 – 206 mph
Severe damage: Roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses, trains overturned, most trees in forest uprooted, and heavy cars lifted off ground and thrown.

Category F4 — Devastating Tornado Category 207 – 260 mph
Devastating damage: Well-constructed houses leveled, structures blown off weak foundations, and cars and other large objects thrown about.

Category F5 — Incredible Tornado Category 261 – 318 mph
Incredible damage: Strong frame houses are lifted off foundations and carried a considerable distance and disintegrated, automobile sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters, and trees debarked.

Source: datarecovery.com

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How does that rank among the biggest quakes since 1900?

Here’s the list:

Source: United States Geological Survey

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35.7 million – Estimated July 1, 2008, population most threatened by Atlantic hurricanes: the coastal portion of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Approximately 12 percent of the nation’s population lived in these areas.

10.2 million – The 1950 coastal population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Seven percent of the nation’s population lived in these areas at that time.

251 percent – Percentage growth of the coastal population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas between 1950 and 2008.

180,155 – Collective land area, in square miles, of the coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas.

3 – The number of the nation’s 20 most populous metro areas in 2008 that were within Atlantic or Gulf coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas. These areas are Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas (sixth); Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla. (seventh); and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (20th).

8 — The number of hurricanes during the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. Five were major hurricanes at Category 3 strength or higher.

Ana – The name of the first Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean storm of 2009. The second storm will be named Bill.

17.9 million – Estimated 2008 coastal population of Florida, accounting for half (50 percent) of the coastal population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Among the Sunshine State’s coastal population, approximately 10.6 million lived along the Atlantic and 7.3 million along the Gulf.

1 percent – Percentage growth of Florida’s coastal population between 2007 and 2008.

Fay – The only storm on record to make landfall four times in the state of Florida, and to prompt tropical storm and hurricane watches and warnings for the state’s entire coastline (at various times during its August 2008 lifespan).

1950 – The year the Weather Bureau officially began naming hurricanes.

2005 – In one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, 28 named storms form, 15 of them hurricanes, seven of which are major, and four reach Category 5 status. For the first time, the alternate Greek alphabet scheme for naming storms has to be employed.

455,056 – Estimated population of New Orleans on July 1, 2005 — about two months before Hurricane Katrina struck.

311,853 – Estimated population of New Orleans on July 1, 2008 — three years after Hurricane Katrina struck.

29,431 – The population of Homestead, Fla., near the point of landfall of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. In 2007, the population of Homestead was 56,601.

37,789 – Population of Galveston, Texas, at the time of the city’s “Great Storm” on Sept. 8, 1900, which killed more than 8,000 people.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

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The Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition says yes…and no.

The most recent edition of the organization’s Ski Area Environmental Scorecard ranks the best and worst resorts in terms of negative impact on the local ecosystem. According to the survey, here are some places the environmentally conscious might wish to avoid.

  1. Copper Mountain Ski Resort – Colorado 29.0%
  2. Breckenridge Ski Resort – Colorado 33.4%
  3. Sun Valley Resort – Idaho 34.7%
  4. Brundage Mountain Resort – Idaho 40.0%
  5. Crystal Mountain Ski Area – Washington 40.0%
  6. White Pass Ski Area – Washington 41.3%
  7. Crested Butte Mountain Resort – Colorado 42.0%
  8. Kirkwood Mountain Resort – California 42.2%
  9. Winter Park Resort – Colorado 42.2%
10. 49 Degrees North Resort – Washington 43.6%

Learn more about all of these ski areas at Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition, where you’ll also find a list of the 10 best areas in terms of environmental consciousness.

Sponsored list:

• Hotel offers under $99 (feed)

Green Right Now reports that a study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress, shows that 1,141 (and possibly nearly 2,000) of the world’s 5,487 mammals are known to be threatened with extinction. The real situation could be much worse as 836 mammals are listed as Data Deficient. With better information more species may well prove to be in danger of extinction.

The threatened mammals include:

• Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) — has a population of just 84-143 adults and has continued to decline due to a shortage of its primary prey, the European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
• China’s Père David’s Deer (Elaphurus davidianus) — listed as Extinct in the Wild. However, the captive and semi-captive populations have increased in recent years and it is possible that truly wild populations could be re-established soon.
• Cuba’s Little Earth Hutia (Mesocapromys sanfelipensis) — not seen in almost 40 years.
• Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) — the global population declined by more than 60 percent in the last 10 years due to a fatal infectious facial cancer.
• The Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) — found in Southeast Asia, moved from Vulnerable to Endangered due to habitat loss in wetlands.
• Caspian Seal (Pusa caspica) — its population has declined by 90 percent in the last 100 years due to unsustainable hunting and habitat degradation and is still decreasing.

The project to assess the world’s mammals was conducted with help from more than 1,800 scientists from over 130 countries. It was made possible by the volunteer help of IUCN Species Survival Commission’s specialist groups and the collaborations between top institutions and universities, including Conservation International, Sapienza Università di Roma, Arizona State University, Texas A&M University, University of Virginia, and the Zoological Society of London.

For more on the study, see Green Right Now.

Green Right Now went to LEED-accredited architect and building scientist Peter Pfeiffer for advice. Along with partner Alan Barley, Pfeiffer founded Barley & Pfeiffer Architects on a commitment to environmentally responsive green building more than two decades ago. GRN sat down with Pfeiffer in his Austin office to tap his experience and posed the questions: ‘How can I make my existing home greener? What’s the smart approach?’ His recommendations follow.

• Tighten up your home — There are little things you can do that make a big difference — reducing air leaks in your house is huge. Weather strip your doors and make sure your windows close tightly.

• Block solar radiation — Stop radiation before it comes in through the glass by shading the windows and the roof.  Take a house with a flat roof or no overhanging eaves. You can reduce solar radiation two simple ways: Put solar screens on the windows, which block solar radiation, or install awnings above the windows. Awnings are probably the best solution. And there are more contemporary-looking awnings today; they don’t have to look like those you’d get out of a 1950s Sears, Roebucks catalog.

• Choose a white or metal roof — If you’re replacing your roof, go with white or unpainted galvalum metal. A white car collects less heat on a summer afternoon than a dark car; it’s common sense. If you lay down wood strips to create an airspace beneath it, a metal roof will make your house much cooler and more comfortable. And it will save you more energy than $25,000 worth of solar collectors can produce.

• Install fluorescent lighting – Traditional fluorescents have changed radically over the past few years. With the new types of light bulbs and ballast, they’re fantastically efficient, generate much less heat and last seven times longer. They make really skinny tubes that light up immediately, put out flicker-free light and give you great color rendition.

• Select energy-efficient appliances — A refrigerator runs all the time, making it the second largest consumer of energy in your home after the air conditioner. Be sure to get an energy efficient model, one that’s earned the Energy Star®. The ones with ice maker dispensers on the door aren’t as efficient, because they have less insulation and use more energy. Also consider an induction cook-top. They put to use 85% of the energy that goes into them, whereas a normal gas cook-top uses only 15%-25% of energy in the cooking process. Microwave ovens are much more efficient than electrical and gas ovens.

• Conserve water — Water conservation is much more effective than trying to be your own rainwater collector or gray water re-user. Come up with ways to use less water before investigating the cost of putting in a rainwater collection system. Low-flow showerheads, front-loading washing machines, ultra-low-flow toilets, drought-tolerant landscaping — those things alone can save you 5,000-10,000 gallons a month.

For more tips on how to retrofit your home, go to Green Right Now.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Many residents across the country have experienced devastating losses caused by flooding. Some suffered the total loss of their homes to floodwaters. Others are trying to make their homes livable again. Time and time again, far too many individuals shoulder these burdens without the financial cushion of flood insurance. In some instances, people have been told they cannot buy flood insurance because of where they live, or because they’ve flooded before. To address these and other misconceptions about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), FEMA has compiled the following key facts that everyone should know about flood insurance:

1. Flood insurance is available. You can — and should — buy flood insurance. As long as you live in a participating NFIP community, and there are more than 20,500 nationwide, you can purchase flood insurance from your insurance agent. And you can purchase a policy if you have, or have not,
flooded before. Renters, condominium owners, homeowners and business owners are all eligible to purchase a policy.

2. Flood insurance is sometimes required — but should always be considered. Flooding can happen anywhere, anytime, due to factors such as heavy rains, melting snow, failed protective devices such as levees and dams, as well as tropical storms and hurricanes. Most individuals that have a home in a high-risk area are required by law to carry flood insurance. But, just because flood insurance is not required does not mean it is not needed. Even if your lender doesn’t require you to carry it, you should ask your agent about flood insurance options to better protect your biggest investment. Without a flood insurance policy, your financial security is at risk.

3. Flood insurance is the most dependable resource for a speedy recovery. Most homeowners insurance does not cover losses due to flooding. Only flood insurance covers damage from rising waters. Remember that all floods are not major floods and, despite what many might think, Federal disaster assistance is not always available after a flood. When such assistance is available, it usually comes in the form of a low-interest loan, which must be paid back with interest.

4. Flood insurance is affordable. Rates are based on a variety of factors such as flood zone, date of construction, history of flood claims, elevation of the lowest floor of the building, etc. The average flood insurance premium is around $500 per year. If you live in a low-to-moderate risk area, lower-cost Preferred Risk Policies start as low as $119 a year. Flood insurance rates are federally set and will not differ from one insurance company to another.

5. Flood insurance is available for your building and its contents. Standard flood insurance policies require that you purchase additional coverage for your contents. However, if you live in a lower-risk area, you may be eligible for a Preferred Risk Policy that covers both your structure and personal items for a lower cost than a standard flood policy. View a complete summary of building and contents items covered by flood insurance.

6. Know your coverage limits — and be fully insured. A maximum of $250,000 of building coverage is available for single-family residential buildings; $250,000 per unit is also available for residential condominiums. The limit for contents coverage on all residential buildings is $100,000, which is also available to renters. Commercial structures can be insured to a limit of $500,000 for the building and $500,000 for the contents. Review your coverage limits to make sure you are adequately insured for your building, its contents and any improvements made to your home.

7. The 100-year flood standard — what it really means. The government’s definition of a floodplain, or high flood risk zone, is an area which has at least a one-in-100 or one percent chance of flooding in any given year. These one percent chance flood events are often called “100 year floods”, but that term can be misleading. The 100-year flood benchmark is a minimum standard used for insurance purposes. While major flood events are not common, they happen, have happened recently and will happen again.

8. Levee protection comes with risks. Levees, dams and other flood control structures are designed to protect against a certain level of flooding. In more serious flood events, levees can fail or overtop. And, as levees age, their level of protection can change. When levees overtop or fail, the flooding that follows can be catastrophic. Because of these unique risks, if you live near a levee, dam, or in areas reliant on other flood control structures, purchasing flood insurance is highly recommended.

9. Filing your claim — what to expect. After a flood event, call your agent or insurance company and ask when to expect an adjuster at your home. Be sure to call your insurance company back if you haven’t been assigned an adjuster within several days of flooding. Before the adjuster arrives, separate damaged and undamaged items, take photos, make a list of damaged or lost items and make a copy of the damage estimates prepared by a contractor to give to the adjuster. Once a detailed proof of loss statement has been prepared and agreed upon, your claim can be submitted.

10. Stay insured. You can purchase flood insurance at any time. However, there is usually a 30-day waiting period before the policy becomes effective. If you already have a flood policy, remember: your policy needs to be renewed each year.

For more information or for help in finding an agent near you, please visit the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) website.

Source: National Flood Insurance Program

From Weather Underground, here’s a list of the most expensive hurricanes in American history:

To see more about these, and to check out the rest of the list of most expensive hurricanes ever, visit Weather Underground.

Seven interesting facts about the disaster:

1. How many people died? No one is certain. Some say up to 12,000, and others claim 10,000. But a detailed official study by the government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates 8,000 people perished on the island that day (although they qualify that with a footnote saying the death toll could be as high as 12,000). There were 37,000 residents of the city then.

2. The storm (hurricanes were not given names then) struck at night and the booming seaport city’s residents were dismissive of earlier weather reports that a strong storm had passed over Cuba. U.S. Weather Bureau forecasters said it would head northeast.

3. Researchers believe that the Galveston storm was a category 4 with with speeds of up to 140 mph and a storm surge of more than 15 feet.

4. More than 3,600 buildings were destroyed, including an orphanage where 10 nuns and 90 children died.

5. The estimated cost of damage from the storm was $20 million at that time. Today, it would add up to $700 million.

6. Galveston was a wealthy city in 1900, the only deep-water port in Texas when the cotton trade was booming. The main street was known as “Wall Street of the Southwest” and there were many mansions. The hurricane wiped out 12 blocks – about three-quarters of the city.

7. Isaac’s Storm, the recent best-selling book by Erik Larson, has post-storm video and photos on its Web site. Isaac Cline was Galveston’s meteorologist who, realizing his failure to recognize the storm’s fury, drove his buggy up and down the beach yelling to residents to flee. YouTube has a video clip made by Thomas Edison of the wreckage after the storm.

Information from NOAA, the Galveston County Daily News, Random House, CNN special report and USA Today.

The list includes:

– Developing a Family Plan

– Creating a Disaster Supply Kit

– Having a Place To Go

– Securing Your Home

– Having a Pet Plan

For more information, visit nhc.noaa.com.

Related lists:

• States With Most Hurricanes
• Deadliest U.S. Hurricanes
• Deadliest Hurricanes in Texas History
• The 5 Categories Of Hurricanes
• What To Do in Hurricane-Force Winds
• Tips For Protecting Pets In An Emergency