Damage

       after Fujita Tornado Intensity Scale (abridged)

Light damage: Some damage to chimneys; branches
broken off trees; shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

The house did not go to hospital for fear of nosy nurses asking questions.
The chimneys were only slightly hurt, and What’s a couple of loose bricks?
the house thought, as the shallow-rooted trees hid behind an armchair.

Moderate damage: The lower limit is the beginning of
hurricane windspeed; attached garages may be destroyed.

There was some blood where the roof was grazed by hurricane wind-speeds.
The house rocked itself, spitting broken tiles onto the ground. The attached
garages clung to each other, determined to be brave for the sake of the house.

Significant damage: Boxcars overturned; high-rise windows
broken and blown in; light-object missiles generated.

The house heard the crack of its window sockets, and blinked broken glass
in surprise. One of the boxcars hit its head in the melee; another shattered
its jaw as it overturned. High-rise ornaments were converted to missiles.

Severe damage: Roofs and some walls torn off well-
constructed houses; most trees in forest uprooted.

Pain splintered as fistfuls of rafters were pulled out at the roots. Once considered
well-constructed, the house knew the shame of nudity when its walls were torn off.
Uprooted from bed, the youngest tree felt the multiple snaps of tibias and fibulas.

Devastating damage: Well-constructed houses leveled; structures
with weak foundations blown some distance; cars thrown.

The house became disorientated. Sensing pelvis and knees weaken at the joists,
it collapsed, dazed and dizzy, blow after knockout blow tearing at its foundations.
The cars, thrown some distance, did not see the house fracture behind them.

Incredible damage: Strong-frame houses lifted and carried considerable distances to
disintegrate; steel-reinforced concrete structures badly damaged; skyscrapers toppled.

The house experienced disintegration as if it were happening to another house.
It had always presented a strong front, because that’s what good houses do. It believed
itself briefly airborne in the explosion of stars that lit the sky’s concrete darkness.

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Dr. Ted Fujita published details of the Fujita Tornado Intensity Scale in a 1971 research paper. Dr Fujita’s family have released all his available works for public use, providing proper citation is included.

Sarah Doyle