# Do water towers ever fall down in hurricanes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 1, 2005, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-towers-ever-fall-down-in-hurricanes/319570 "2005-09-01T10:55:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-towers-ever-fall-down-in-hurricanes/319570/1 "2005-09-01T10:55:02Z")
I have noticed in the post-hurricane video reports of destruction that large town water towers are still standing. I would think something with such a high profile would fail at some point. Do they ever fall down in the 120+ mile an hour winds? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-towers-ever-fall-down-in-hurricanes/319570/2 "2005-09-01T12:07:22Z")
On the news the other night I _did_ see a water tower – one of those water-ball towers, in fact – that had fallen over. They didn’t comment on it, or say where it was, so I can’t help you look it up. But evidently they _do_ fall over in hurricane winds. ---
**Author:** ![Pixisis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Pixisis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixisis)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-towers-ever-fall-down-in-hurricanes/319570/3 "2005-09-01T12:10:36Z")
their spheroid shape helps winds pass around them without damage, but yes they do sometimes get knocked down by hurricanes. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-towers-ever-fall-down-in-hurricanes/319570/4 "2005-09-01T13:50:34Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But evidently they _do_ fall over in hurricane winds. I saw that too, and thought…“I’ve never seen news footage showing one down before.” -rainy ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-towers-ever-fall-down-in-hurricanes/319570/5 "2005-09-01T13:57:22Z")
> [@Pixisis](#): > > their spheroid shape helps winds pass around them without damage, but yes they do sometimes get knocked down by hurricanes. …And the weight of the water helps keep the center of gravity over the supporting columns. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-towers-ever-fall-down-in-hurricanes/319570/6 "2005-09-01T14:41:42Z")
Also, a lot of the really destroyed stuff in Mississippi was from the storm surge. Most of the water tower is above that water level, so they would probably only be affected if they got hit by large debris. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-towers-ever-fall-down-in-hurricanes/319570/7 "2005-09-01T17:52:45Z")
A day or two ago the Weather Channel was showing a downed “ball type” water tower. Jim Cantore was of the strong opinion that it was a tornado that brought it down, not the hurricane winds alone. ---
**Author:** ![festiva76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e8cbc/32.png) [@festiva76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/festiva76)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-towers-ever-fall-down-in-hurricanes/319570/8 "2005-09-01T21:48:41Z")
Not 100% sure where exactly it was, but I saw the water tower down on TV the other night as well. Maybe Florida City, FL. It seems as if it was during Andrew. It must take a hell of a storm to down them, however. ---
**Author:** ![pencilpusher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d6d6ee/32.png) [@pencilpusher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pencilpusher)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-towers-ever-fall-down-in-hurricanes/319570/9 "2005-09-01T22:43:46Z")
Too bad we can’t make buildings like that huh? (or CAN we??..) ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-towers-ever-fall-down-in-hurricanes/319570/10 "2005-09-02T02:48:29Z")
> [@festiva76](#): > > Not 100% sure where exactly it was, but I saw the water tower down on TV the other night as well. Maybe Florida City, FL. It seems as if it was during Andrew. It must take a hell of a storm to down them, however. A water tower in my home town, Slidell La., was brought down by Katrina, according to reports I have seen. I believe we are all discussing the same image on the Weather Channel. Several people have told me about the downed water tower since then. I am not sure but perhaps we all saw that same image, so I am not sure we have independent confirmation. The eye of the hurricane passed over town as a Cat. 4. This is the only case I am aware of however. ---
**Author:** ![festiva76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e8cbc/32.png) [@festiva76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/festiva76)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-water-towers-ever-fall-down-in-hurricanes/319570/11 "2005-09-02T12:05:45Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > A water tower in my home town, Slidell La., was brought down by Katrina, according to reports I have seen. I believe we are all discussing the same image on the Weather Channel. Several people have told me about the downed water tower since then. I am not sure but perhaps we all saw that same image, so I am not sure we have independent confirmation. The eye of the hurricane passed over town as a Cat. 4. > This is the only case I am aware of however. I know it was one of the newer kind of towers, and it was white in color. I believe we are talking about the same tower as well. Too bad we can’t remember the town name.