dr. gianluca grimalda
At least 20 people died due to tornados hitting South of US.I'm astonished people drove around their cars as if they'd not been alerted?
Cutting public jobs at #NOAA, responsible for weather forecasting, seems the least sensible thing to do. #MissouriWeather #ClimateChange https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIsvgkhhZUc
VIDEO: Monster tornadoes rip across Missouri killing 3

YouTube
Mar 15 at 11:25pmWeb
Show threadUrwumpeMar 16

@gianluca_grimalda I am not surprised at all. Of course they do that. First of all, nobody knows when and where a tornado hits. They will do their usual business until the sirens go on. And not be told to drive home or evacuate the region, because thats far worse.

And next, even professionals can sometimes not notice a tornado until hits them. In those videos you usually see the tornado well, because videos with just a different shade of gray in the rain don't get published.

Show threaddr. gianluca grimaldaMar 16
@urwumpe even if it's difficult to predict where tornado will hit, alerts and even evacuation should be arranged. These seem to me all preventable deaths.
Show threadUrwumpeMar 16

@gianluca_grimalda I disagree. Remember we only knew in advance, that a region spanning two states had a very high tornado risk. Can we evacuate this with such uncertainty? Doubtful.

When actual tornadogenesis starts, we have only minutes left. In that situation, calling for evacuation like it happened in El Reno 2013 is a recipe for disaster. Lots of traffic jams, with many people being extremely vulnerable inside their cars.

Show threadUrwumpeMar 16
@gianluca_grimalda and worst of all, most tornado activity yesterday was reported outside the highest risk area, further towards the south. The USA could have evacuated people into danger, not outside it. Would the USA evacuated everything with a risk level of 4 out of 5, four US states would be empty or sitting in bunkers.
Show threaddr. gianluca grimaldaMar 16
@urwumpe I see your points. But at least people should have been alerted to stay home and not to move, I believe. I remember that at the time of flooding in Rheinland-Palatinate, which killed 150 people, many people were completely unaware of the incoming hazard. Apparently, one of the reasons was that the authorities were forbidden to send mass text messages on people's phones because of stringent privacy laws.
Show threadUrwumpeMar 16

@gianluca_grimalda the problem was that before the flood, cell broadcast didn't exist in Germany by plain arrogance and cutting costs. Only the few users of the different apps like Katwarn or Nina could have received a warning.

If it was send in first place. That was another problem, the warning and order to evacuate came when the flood was already there.

And yes, stay at home and stay informed is the best practice for tornado risks. But at night, its still dangerous.

Show threadLinkszentriker CrisMar 16
@gianluca_grimalda The way stuff works in the US, I'd not be surprised if they were called into work and threatened to get fired and starve if they didn't brave the tornado on the way to work.
Show threaddr. gianluca grimaldaMar 16
@alteNBnordpfalz this is equivalent to murder. these all seem to me preventable deaths.
Show threadLinkszentriker CrisMar 16
@gianluca_grimalda The US is a place I don't want to live.