A well-warned, high-risk tornado event was verified across portions of Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia on March 25, 2021, producing 16 individual tornadoes, nine of which were EF2 or higher intensity (estimated wind speeds greater than 110 mph). Tragically, five fatalities were directly caused by the tornadoes, four in mobile or manufactured homes and a fifth in a non-permanent structure. A sixth fatality occurred in GA during search and rescue attempts. That more fatalities did not occur despite widespread damage was a testament to the National Weather Service and other members of the Integrated Warning Teams (IWT), with the high likelihood for tornadoes appearing in the convective outlooks several days prior to the event itself, and with prompt warning issuance and communication by local partners throughout the outbreak.
The majority of the damage occurred to single-family residences, although at least three schools and several engineered buildings were also impacted to the extent that classes were forced to go back to remote-only until repairs could be made. The affected buildings were constructed with no consideration of tornadoes. Roof structure failures were common, with many roof failures associated with subsequent collapse of the exterior walls. Most concerning was a number of site-built homes that suffered complete collapse, some with damage patterns suggesting the shear walls or wall anchorage assembly were the weakest link in the load chain, resulting in unsafe collapses.
This project encompasses the products of StEER's response to this event: Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (PVRR).
Document Collection | 25 March 2021 Deep South Tornado Outbreak Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (PVRR)
Cite This Data:
Roueche, D., M. Amini, R. Barnes, S. Crawford, S. Javadinasab Hormozabad, H. Ibrahim, S. Krautwurst, S. Pilkington, B. Rittelmeyer, T. Kijewski-Correa, D. Prevatt, I. Robertson (2021). "25 March 2021 Deep South Tornado Outbreak Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (PVRR)", in StEER - 25 March 2021 Deep South Tornado Outbreak. DesignSafe-CI. https://doi.org/10.17603/ds2-1bp9-qx57
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Date Published
2021-04-20
DOI
10.17603/ds2-1bp9-qx57
License
Creative Commons Attribution
Description:
This Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (PVRR) is intended to: (1) provide an overview of the tornado outbreak, particularly relating to extreme wind and wind-borne debris impact on the built environment, (2) overview the regulatory environment and construction practices in the affected areas, (3) summarize the preliminary reports of damage to residential, commercial, institutional and religious structures, (4) document the circumstances of the fatalities that occurred in structures,
and (5) provide recommendations to inform the continued study of this event by the engineering reconnaissance community. As the product of entirely virtual reconnaissance, the PVRR is not based upon detailed field investigations by StEER.