Tornados Strike Lustron Homes at Lustron Connection

May 2007, Greensburg, Kansas ~ Only Structure Standing
"A house in Greensburg, Kansas was hit by an F-5 tornado in May of 2007. All other structures around it for a half mile around were destroyed."

April 2000, Hoisington, Kansas
On Saturday April 21, 2000 , an F-4 Tornado struck Hoisington Kansas. Hundreds of structures were destroyed.? Following are some photos taken shortly after the storm.? Many structures were leveled - this Lustron remained standing but was seriously damaged. Most of the interior ceiling panels remained intact.? Wind-borne? missles entered the structure and caused siginificant damage to wall panels and doors.

This is a Lustron Westchester- 02 Model Porcelain/Steel? Home.

"Our damage assessment team was impressed with how well the light-gauge steel frame house held up to the F4 tornado . . . with winds of 207-260 mph. ????. . . Although signficantly damaged, much of the damage was caused by the windows and roof being torn off. Structurally it appears to have held up remarkably well. " ??????
[ FEMA Official Letter ]

Although the home is no longer useable, all the walls remained intact.
Not bad considering it probably took a direct hit by the tornado.
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Front Door
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Those steel panels which you can see are indented -? are quite strong.
A 165 LB person can stand on the middle of an elevated panel and it will? not deflect.
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Nearby Wooden Structures

Thanks to Kenneth Sessa for forwarding these photos to the Lustron Connection web site.

Steel Homes In The Year 2007
Steel homes are available in the US and are useful in hurricane and tornado prone areas of USA. More . . .
? Kodiak Steel Homes holds copyrights for this image. Used here with permission of K.S.H.

Letter from Kenneth Sessa, FEMA Official
Subject: Tornado Damage, April 2000, Hoisington, Kansas

Actually, ~500 houses impacted consisting of 200 destroyed, 85 major damage, another 200 minor damage. Also signficant damage to the high school. All in a nine-block by nine-block area. Our damage assessment team was impressed with how well the light-gauge steel frame house held up to the F4 tornado (on the Fujita-Pearson Scale of Tornado Intensity). On the Fujita Scale, F4 corresponds to a devastating tornado with winds of 207-260 mph.

Devastation is defined as well constructed houses leveled, structures with weak foundations blown off some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated. Although the scale goes to F6, F6 is a theoretical maximum that could probably ever be achieved and not actually recognizeable. Although signficantly damaged, much of the damage was caused by the windows and roof being torn off. Structurally it appears to have held up remarkably well.

I have always been a fan of light gauge steel contruction for residential anyway and didn't see the Lustron until I was looking through photos from another team member. As I was looking through the photos, I recognized that it was a Lustron Westchester Deluxe Model 02 (OK, I didn't recognize all this, but I did recognize it as a Lustron and the rest was easy to follow-up). No other Lustrons in the area. All other houses I saw were wood stick-built construction, and they were mostly just debris piles with no reconizeable form. Although it faired better, it is still a total loss.

This Lustron probably came from Dan Brack's dealership (Kansas's most prolific Lustron Dealer) in nearby Great Bend, KS. Dan Brack sold 38 Lustrons between January 1949 and June 1950. I will be returning to the area to assist with debris management and recovery operations next week. Great Bend is nearby with 17 remaining Lustrons, consisting of both two and three bedroom models of the Westchester Deluxe and Newport Deluxe. Larned is also nearby with nine remaining Lustrons. I hope to do some follow-up and learn more about these houses. I really want to see some Lustron garages, but alas there are only twelve remaining in Kansas (seven 1-1/2 car models and five 2-1/2 car models) and I do not know were these are located. Sadly, I live in a stick-built house in Kansas City. A couple of Lustrons here, but not for sale.