Inferior Construction
Examples of Damage/risk from living in wood-constructed homes/buildings
We consider wood-constructed buildings to be an inferior method of construction compared to CMU/VOBB because the test-of-time has proven that wood-construction (using termite food and firewood) does not stand up to the requirements for a safe home for people.
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Fire in the United States
QuickStats
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/quickstats/index.shtm
The Overall Fire Picture - 2005
There were 3,675 civilians that lost their lives as the result of fire.
There were 17,925 civilian injuries that occurred as the result of fire.
There were 115 firefighters killed while on duty.
Fire killed more Americans than all natural disasters combined.
83 percent of all civilian fire deaths occurred in residences.
1.6 million fires were reported. Many others went unreported, causing
additional injuries and property loss.
Direct property loss due to fires was estimated at $10.7 billion.
An estimated 31,500 intentionally set structure fires resulted in 315
civilian deaths.
Intentionally set structure fires resulted in an estimated $664 million
in property damage.
Where Fires Occur
* There were 1,755,000 fires in the United States
in 1998. Of these:
* 41% were Outside Fires
* 29% were Structure Fires
* 22% were Vehicle Fires
* 8 % were fires of other types
* Residential fires represent 22 percent of all fires and 74 percent of structure fires.
* Fires in 1-2 family dwellings most often start in
the:
1. Kitchen 23.5%
2. Bedroom 12.7%
3. Living Room 7.9%
4. Chimney 7.1%
5. Laundry Area 4.7%
* The U.S. has one of the highest fire death rates
in the industrialized world at 14.5 deaths per million population.
* 4,045 Americans lost their lives and another 22,350 were injured as
the result of fire.
* 102 firefighters were killed in duty-related incidents.
* Fire killed more Americans than all natural disasters combined.
* 85 percent of all fire deaths occurred in residences.
* 1.7 million fires were reported. Many others went unreported, causing
additional injuries and property loss.
* Direct property loss due to fires was estimated at $11 billion.
* An estimated 75,000 incendiary or suspicious structure fires resulted
in 505 civilian deaths and $1.3 billion in property damage.
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/05/02/midwest.storms/index.
html?iref=newssearch
Seven killed in Arkansas storms
May 2008
"DAMASCUS, Arkansas (CNN) -- At least seven people, including three members of the same family, were killed Friday and at least 13 people were injured as severe weather swept through Arkansas, emergency officials said."
"In Siloam Springs, Arkansas, a 15-year-old girl was killed when a tree fell through the bedroom where she was sleeping. . ."
**** We feel that if the home had been built with quality VOBB, then the girl may not have been injured, much less died as the VOBB walls would have stopped or reduced the impact. (This is our opinion. It would be good to have actual details to test.) *****
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/04/29/virginia.tornadoes/index.
html?iref=newssearch
At least 140 homes hit by Virginia tornadoes
April 2008
"SUFFOLK, Virginia (CNN) -- Virginians faced a massive cleanup project Tuesday after at least three tornadoes damaged dozens of homes and injured more than 200 people."
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/04/24/severe.weather.ap/index
.html?iref=newssearch
Storms destroy Texas homes
April 2008
"DALLAS, Texas (AP) -- A severe thunderstorm system that may have included several tornadoes hammered parts of west and north Texas, destroying or damaging more than a dozen homes near Fort Worth.
"The worst damage appeared to be near the Fort Worth suburb of Crowley, where four homes were destroyed and nine others damaged . . .
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Please see the article in 
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/2008-02-07-tornado-cleanup_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
Cleanup continues after devastating tornadoes
"Thirty-one people were killed in Tennessee, 13 in Arkansas, seven in Kentucky and five in Alabama, emergency officials said.
It was one of the 15 worst tornado death tolls since 1950, and the nation's deadliest barrage of tornadoes since 76 people were killed in Pennsylvania and Ohio on May 31, 1985.
Hundreds of homes were demolished across the region and officials were only beginning to tally how much the tornadoes would cost."
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http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/katrina/storm.flood/
Making history
"Federal officials consider Katrina the most destructive hurricane to ever strike the United States. But Katrina will be remembered for more than the size and strength of a weather system. The wind and water that blew on shore from the Gulf of Mexico exposed weaknesses in public works and public planning. The images of suffering and loss in Louisiana and Mississippi will survive long past the rebuilding of cities and towns."
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Please see the article in
Four killed as storms sweep across South
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/stormcenter/2004-11-24-wed-tornado_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA
http://www.vobb.com/examples-inferior/Four-killed-as-storms-USA-Today.PDF
The Associated Press
Tornadoes plowed across the South from Texas to Alabama on Tuesday and
Wednesday, killing four people, wrecking homes and businesses in rural
areas and the suburbs of New Orleans, and turning trees to kindling.
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Wow. That's a lot of dead Americans!
As per www.flash.org
http://www.flash.org/activity.cfm?currentPeril=3
The dangers of tornadoes
"During the last century, more than 10,000 Americans died in
tornadoes. About 1,000 tornadoes are recorded each year in the U.S. --
over 10 times more than in any other country. Tornadoes can happen in
any state, at any time -- on the plains, in cities or forests, early in
the morning or late in the evening. They can start in an empty field,
or in a busy city, picking up homes, cars and businesses, leaving nothing
but destruction in their path."
http://www.flash.org/activity.cfm?currentPeril=3
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Please see the article in
Bush visits Florida to survey damage
LAKE WALES, Fla. (AP) — President Bush, touring hurricane-battered
Florida . . .
The president asked Congress late Monday for more than $7.1 billion to help Florida and other Southeastern states recover from the storms. It was Bush's third request for supplemental storm aid.
Congress approved his first request for $2 billion and is considering
his second, for $3.1 billion — bringing the total to more than $12
billion.
http://www.vobb.com/examples-inferior/Florida-damage-hurricane-Bush.pdf
How many billions of tax dollars of damage could have been saved if there had been quality VOBB construction?
http://www.vobb.com/examples-inferior/Hurricane-Ivan-damage-Bush.jpg
from the Pensacola News Journal
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Please see the article in
Is there a $500 billion hurricane on the horizon?
An extrapolation of current trends "suggests a storm like the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane could result in perhaps $500 billion in damage as soon as the 2020s," the study said."
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Isabel death toll creeps higher
Fallen trees, drowning, carbon monoxide killed most victims
Tuesday, September 23, 2003 Posted: 9:06 PM EDT (0106 GMT)
OUTER BANKS DEVASTATION
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WEATHER/09/22/isabel/index.html
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http://www.cnn.com/2003/WEATHER/05/0
5/tornadoes/index.html
Monday, May 5, 2003
"It's not even recognizable," said Missouri state Rep. Jack Goodman. "There's not one building that hasn't been significantly damaged. Many of them are gone entirely, and very few -- if any -- will be salvageable."
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http://www.usatoday.com/weather/
news/2002/2002-09-03-wisconsintornado_x.htm
Sep. 4, 2002 - Updated 07:45 AM ET
Damage from Wisconsin tornado tops $20 million
LADYSMITH, Wis. (AP) - The damage estimate from a Labor Day tornado that tore through this northwestern Wisconsin town topped the $20 million . . .
. . . The tornado leveled a Baptist church. . .
. . . Authorities estimate the tornado damaged between 130 and 150 buildings in Rusk County . . . The tornado destroyed 26 businesses and 17 homes.
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The Disaster Center Ranking of Tornado Risk by
State
If you want to know what rank your
state has in regards to damage from tornadoes, go to: http://www.disastercenter.com/tornado/rank.htm
Storm Data - Tornado Statistics - 1953 - 1995
Did you know that there have been 35,000
tornadoes in the U.S. in the last 27 years?
Texas # 1; Oklahoma # 2; Florida # 3 and Louisiana # 10
Did you know that there have been 4,000 people killed from these tornadoes
in the U.S.?
http://water.dnr.state.sc.us/climate/sercc/torn_stats.html
or
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/000402_rpts.html
Please see the article in
Tornado outbreaks of 1999
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/1999/w99tor.htm
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Please see the article in
Floridians recall Andrew's rage
By Deborah Sharp, USA TODAY
"CUTLER RIDGE, Fla. — Ten years after Hurricane
Andrew ravaged the southern tip of Florida, Carl and Debbie Paschal need
no reminders of how much the terrible storm changed everything.
Florida City resident in front of his former home on Sept. 1, 1992.
AP file
"Some people have never really recovered," says Carl Paschal, 62. The minister and his wife stayed here to rebuild their home and church despite a post-storm exodus that transformed their community.
Hurricane Andrew, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, ripped apart the Paschals' house, along with just about everything else in a 30-mile-wide swath south of Miami. It then went on to rake Louisiana. The storm and its aftermath left 43 people dead and about $30 billion in damage."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/
nation/2002-08-22-andrew-anniversary_x.htm
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For some very interesting information about hurricanes, please visit the following: www.utyx.com/hurricanes
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Another Storm Eyes Texas
July 9, 2002
(CBS) Eleven more Texas counties were declared federal disaster areas Monday following a week of devastating floods that could result in damages reaching $1 billion, with 48,000 homes damaged, . . . "
Lumber, chairs and other flood debris from area homes pile up next to this house in Seguin, Texas.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/03
/national/main514145.shtml
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And another el-cheapo wood house bites the dust as a
result of the Texas storm. Just
one of thousands of homes that was damaged. (July 2002)
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As per the Houston Chronicle, Sept. 29, 2002,
"Texans to scramble for home insurance
If you are in the market for homeowners insurance, you better have good credit and a near spotless claims record.
The competition to find an affordable policy is going to get tough as roughly 58,000 people a month. . .
As if finding a policy won't be difficult enough, homeowners insurance rates have increased for some Texas consumers by as much as 200 percent."
http://www.vobb.com/examples-inferior
/Houston-Chronicle-insurance-problems-in-Texas.pdf
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As per the Louisiana Department of Insurance - 16-Oct-2002
"Tropical Storm Isidore caused $70 million in insured damages in Louisiana and Hurricane Lili caused about $260 million, for a combined $330 million in insured losses with 137,000 claims filed for the two storms. . ."
http://www.vobb.com/examples-inferior/
Louisiana-Dept-of-insurance-damage-from-Hurrican-Lili.pdf
As per The Business Insurance magazine (October 21, 2002), it stated that "there were 112,700 claims from Lili". Now the question is for the government leaders, how many of these claims could have been prevented due to quality construction using VOBB. Likewise, what are they going to do to prevent the next hurricane from doing the same amount of damage again? How many people have to be hurt before el-cheapo wood construction (using termite food and firewood) is replaced with quality construction?
A home in Lafayette built of wood sliced in two after
Lilli.
A brick wall with no rebar fallen after Lilli.
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Please see the article in
11/12/2002 - Updated 08:47 AM ET
MOSSY GROVE, Tenn. (AP) —"More than 70 tornadoes and thunderstorms over the weekend and into Monday killed at least 35 people in five states. Sixteen deaths were reported in Tennessee, 12 in Alabama, five in Ohio and one each in Mississippi and Pennsylvania. More than 200 people were injured.
"It was just deafening it was so loud," said 17-year-old Tabatha Henry. "You could hear the wood pop in the house, and that was it. Then all you could hear was the screaming and praying."
http://www.vobb.com/examples-inferior/
USATODAY-Tornadoes-2002-Nov-TN-AL.pdf
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Please see the article in cnn.com
February 14, 2000
Death toll rises to 19 from Georgia tornadoes
"CAMILLA, Georgia (CNN) --Tornadoes blasted rural southern Georgia
early Monday, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 100 others,
authorities said. It was feared the toll might rise as rescuers searched
for people trapped in their damaged homes.
"It looks like a nuclear bomb went off," said Mayor Jay Powell of Camilla, Georgia, where the twisters cut a 5-mile path through a housing development south of the Mitchell County town."
How much of this waste could have been prevented with quality VOBB construction??
http://www.cnn.com/2000/WEATHER/
02/14/storms.05/index.html
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Please see the article in
October 19, 1999
Carolina residents under flood threat again
"TARBORO, N.C. (AP) - Eastern North Carolina residents are struggling
to raise their spirits after suffering through three straight hurricanes
that have deluged the state with 4 feet of rain, damaged thousands of
homes and turned lives upside down."
What a waste - "damaged thousands of homes." How much of this destruction could have been prevented had the homes been built using quality construction of VOBB concrete blocks????
Thanks a million to Nicole Demers with for her assistance.
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Please see the article in cnn.com
US > Story page - August 14, 1999
This is an example of how a fire can damage a wood-built
home
- even when the fire was started at a neighbor's home.
http://www.cnn.com/US/9908/14/
carolina.fires.02/index.html
"...blaze that destroyed at least four ocean front homes, including
those of U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings and race car driver Kyle Petty."
"Once firemen arrived to fight the first blaze, it quickly spread to Petty's home next door, and then jumped the street to Hollings."
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Please see the article in
December 22, 2000
Peak Fire Months
http://www.usatoday.com/snapshot/news/snapndex.htm
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Please see the article in cnn.com
Weather > Story page - April 3, 1999
Deadly twister rips through Louisiana town
6 dead, 75 injured
"BENTON, Louisiana (CNN) -- A tornado tore through the small northwest Louisiana town of Benton on Saturday afternoon, killing at least six people and injuring as many as 75 others.
The National Weather Service said the twister was 300 yards wide when it passed through north Shreveport on its way to Benton."
http://cnn.com/weather/9904/03/la.tornado.03/index.html
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Please see the article in cnn.com
US > Story page - May 8, 1999
Clinton: 'I have never seen so much
destruction'
President tours storm-damaged Oklahoma
"Clinton urged Oklahomans to build "safe rooms" in their homes to protect them from tornadoes, and said the state of Oklahoma would be able to assist low-income families to build the secured rooms.
"The state's Emergency Management Office reported 3,719 homes or businesses were destroyed and another 1,632 damaged. Kansas authorities reported structural damage to 8,480 homes or businesses, including 1,109 that were destroyed."
http://cnn.com/US/9905/08/clinton.tornadoes.02/
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Please see the article in cnn.com
US > Story page - January 22, 1999
More tornadoes rip through South
"LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (CNN) -- Numerous tornadoes ripped through several southern states Friday, less than 24 hours after dozens of tornadoes killed eight people and injured dozens more."
"It's hard to recognize the debris as homes"
"Debris" - Peoples homes are now called "debris"??? Could this transformation to "debris" have been avoided if quality construction with VOBB concrete blocks had been used?
http://cnn.com/US/9901/22/tornado.04/index.html
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Please see the article in cnn.com
US > Story page - September 3, 1999
Earl spawns tornadoes in Southeast
"MACON, Georgia(CNN) -- Tropical storm Earl, downgraded
from a hurricane, was spinning off tornadoes as it moved northeast along
the Georgia coast Thursday, after claiming at least two lives.
Florida's worries not over
Tornadoes were reported in six Florida counties, said Lisa Hutcheson of
the state's emergency management agency.
"The brunt of the storm has passed, but we are concerned the tail
of it could sweep across the central and northern part of state,"
she said.
"A tornado damaged 11 homes and six businesses in Brevard County on Florida's east coast, emergency managers said. Another on St. George Island, an affluent vacation spot about 75 miles southeast of Tallahassee, ripped through at least six homes late Wednesday."
"11 Homes damaged" - Was this another waste which could have been avoided if quality construction with VOBB concrete blocks had been used?
http://cnn.com/WEATHER/9809/03/storms.04/
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Please see the article in
"1998 a busy, deadly hurricane year"
"MIAMI, Nov. 30, 1998 - The deadliest hurricane season
in more than two centuries comes to an official end today, with a late-season
storm still churning in the Atlantic Ocean.
"Gray, who underestimated this season's activity despite the above average hurricane forecast, said the last four years have been the most active ever for hurricanes in the Atlantic basin. He expects another active hurricane season in 1999."
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/huricane/1998/wrapup98.htm
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Please see the article in cnn.com
US > Story page - September 16, 2003
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Hurricane Isabel could still be
among the nation's most costly natural disasters,
http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/16/
news/companies/isabel/index.htm?cnn=yes
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Please see the article in
"Ever costlier natural disasters"
Source: Munich Re (a worldwide re-insurer) for Worldwatch
(www.worldwatch.com)
1980-89 $77.5 billion
1990-98 $360.1 billion
http://www.usatoday.com/snapshot/news/nsnap124.htm
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Historical Summary of Major Hurricanes
in the US from Fox
1900 Galveston, 1928 Okeechobee, 1935 The Labor Day
1969 Camille, 1989 Hugo, 1992 Andrew, 1998 Mitch, 1999 Floyd
http://www.foxnews.com/national/hurricane/?refer=isynd
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Please see the article in <http://www.vobb.com/examples/usa-today-2-jpg.jpg>
04/03/99
Super tornado outbreak
"XENIA, Ohio, Friday, April 2, 1999 . . . The storm leveled all
but a handful of 400 new ranch-style homes. It flattened century-old buildings,
shredding like paper dollhouses the graceful Victorians and the brick
storefronts along Detroit Street downtown. Nine churches, four schools
and 1,333 homes and businesses were destroyed."
April 3-4, 1974, super tornado outbreak
Were "1,333 homes and businesses . . . destroyed" due to
inferior construction??????
Is your home ready for this??????
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tornado/outbreak/wxenia74.htm
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These are some examples of the potential damage from a tornado which can be caused due to inferior construction. Do you want this to happen to your family????
* 
*
*
Thanks a million to Jesse Ferrel for sharing his informative photographs.
Please see the web site for a full set of pictures.
http://www.cybervox.org/j/oldsite/wx/041596/jpix.html
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And another el-cheapo wood house bites the dust.
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Please see article in b.FACTS
(University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension-Lancaster County)
Barb Ogg and Dennis Ferraro, Extension Educators, Lancaster County Extension
Office
"Termites 'Bite' into Pocketbook"
"Subterranean termites cost Nebraska homeowners more than $1
million each year in treatment expenses. Most of the infestations are
found in the southeastern part of Nebraska, and a high percentage of termite
treatments are concentrated in the urban areas of Lincoln and Omaha."
http://ianrwww.unl.edu/ianr/pat/term2.htm
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Please see the article in UniSci
(University Science)
"Formosan Super-Termites Spreading Throughout Florida"
New Formosan "super termite" infestations in three counties
in Florida indicate the pest is spreading at an alarming rate throughout
the state, says a University of Florida termite expert....
"Populations of this destructive termite should be treated like a contagious disease," said Nan-Yao Su, entomologist with the UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
"Basically, if one homeowner controls the pest and the guy down the street doesn't do anything, there still could be a serious termite problem in the neighborhood," Su said.
"If we don't step up our control measures, the Formosan termite could become firmly established throughout the state, probably within 20 to 30 years. The problem in some Florida communities could eventually becomelike the one in New Orleans, where more than 90 percent of the buildings in the French Quarter are infested."
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:Please see the article from Texas A&M University
June 12, 2003
FORMOSAN SUBTERRANEAN TERMITES MAKING DEEPER INROADS INTO TEXAS
Writer: Robert Burns (903) 834-6191,rd-burns@t...
Sources: Dr. Ronald Billings (936) 639-8170, rbillings@t...
Dr. James Robinson (903) 834-6191,jv-robinson@t...
OVERTON – After jumping ship during World War II, Formosan termites
are now spreading rapidly throughout Texas.
Texas has its share of native termites, but Formosan termites have
nastier habits, according to entomologists with the Texas Forest
Service and Texas Cooperative Extension.
Formosan termites are considered the most aggressive and economically
devastating termites in the country, according to Ronald Billings,
entomologist with the Texas Forest Service.
"In addition to infesting wood in use, these termites may attack
and
kill living trees, making them of particular concern as an urban
forest pest," Billings said.
"Once they've infested a structure, they are extremely difficult
to
eradicate. Many professional exterminators won't take the job because
of the expense, and they can't guarantee control," said Dr. James
Robinson, entomologist with Texas Cooperative Extension.
http://agnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/ENTO/Jun1203a.htm
EXAMPLES OF WOOD FENCES WHICH HAVE FAILED
