I sure do wish them luck in rebuilding. This is the biggest thing that scares me when we travel--that we will be at some campground somewhere with tornados coming. We have been in some bad storms, but have been lucky so far. Everyone stay safe.
I left Georgia on 2/29 and I have been trying to stay ahead of them. My RV radio (the one in the driving area) has a Weather Band, it's a Jensen radio. Two years ago, I was listening to a CD and a "storm alert" in Wyoming interrupted my CD. Interesting that it can do that! I got my RV off the freeway and checked in to an RV park and avoided a tornado. JJ
I don't see them too much in the East but I know out in the mid-west we have stayed at RV parks that had designated tornado shelters.
QUOTE(rgatijnet @ Mar 6 2012, 12:58 PM) [snapback]28943[/snapback] I don't see them too much in the East but I know out in the mid-west we have stayed at RV parks that had designated tornado shelters. Most commercial campgrounds in the Midwest do have designated shelters, but it is important to realize that some do not. Many will tell you just go to the restroom or some other building and, when you look it is obviously not a tornado shelter. We stayed at one a couple of years ago that directed us to a church a few miles away for shelter. We are not especially paranoid about storms (our chances of being in a direct path are small) so when faced with that issue, we make alternate plans and relax. Others a bit more cautious may want to find a better shelter.
Some campgrounds we have stayed at have had a designated tornado shelter, but in most cases is has been the camp office or bathroom and has not looked like it will offer much protection--certainly not in the wake of an F4. But then not much of anything will hold up then. Our problem is not knowing where else to go to find better shelter especially if it is in the middle of the night. I would be really interested in hearing what any of you have done to protect yourselves during a really bad storm. Did you go to a sturdier location or ride it out in the RV?
QUOTE I would be really interested in hearing what any of you have done to protect yourselves during a really bad storm. Did you go to a sturdier location or ride it out in the RV? We have actually done both. I grew up in north central IN and lived for many years in the Cincinnati area. During those 40 years we have seen a lot of tornadoes. Had one house totally destroyed and another shifted (rotated) 10 inches on the foundation, and thus a total loss. Through the years I have been on a golf course as a tornado touched down nearby, had one chase me down a highway, been in a boat frantically heading for shore as one approached, and been tent camping on a lake island as one crossed over. The reality is, though, that because the on ground footprint of the storm is so small most personal injury comes from flying debris so if you can lay on the ground or, better, in a ditch, you will probably survive. If we are on the road we leave the highway and look to hide behind a large building. If we are in the rv in a campground and warnings are announced, we watch the radar online to see if we are in a path. If DW is there (she travels for work a lot so many times it is just the dog and I), we are likely to go to a shelter sooner for her peace of mind. If just the dog and I are in the motorhome we likely will not go to the shelter unless a storm's direct path looks like a sure thing for where we are. If it is late at night the dog and I will stay in bed and listen to the wind. Two years ago we were near Indianapolis when a storm with a smaller tornado went by across the road - I slept through it. The smart thing is probably to go to the shelter, but who wants to sit all night in a bathroom for hours with your new best friends and their pets?
Wow, you sure have had a lot of encounters. Thanks for sharing your stories. Your insight into what to do was helpful.
The bad part to me is not a lot of parks have any shelters to get into. We have only found a small number of parks that have one. In most cases the door was locked. Only a couple would stand up to an F3 or 4 and most would have been gone with the wind. Only one south of OK city was build to take anything. A large cement box in the ground, locked steel door from the inside, and hundreds of power poles wired together and drove into the ground around it to keep flying debris out. This is a bad problem we all face as our RV's would be a gone in the wind.
Posted on the KOA Tellico Plains Facebook page April 18th: "Clean up is complete and we are moving into Phase 2....electrical and plumbing repairs. We will keep you posted as we progress."
Good things can sometimes happen from things like this. A KOA in Punta Gorda, FL was destroyed in hurricane Charlie and a group of snowbirds bought the remains and started a "condo" campground. Sites initially sold for $19,999 and as they started being more successful, some of the lakefront sites sold for $60,000. This was during the land boom and they dropped down considerably when the bust hit Florida. My brother bought a site there and we stayed there several times. It was quite nice. They had separate electric and water meters and folks improved their sites with concrete, sheds, and landscaping. Hopefully something like this can happen to this newly destroyed KOA.
I'd rather see it rebuilt as an open to the public campground, as it was prior to the tornado. That way it's available to everyone, not just the select few that buy in.
