Why do people In Tornado/Hurricane zones still build the same destroyable houses?

[iheartthed]

Tornadoes don't/won't alter land development patterns because they have low societal risk (potential to affect a large number of people), and lower catastrophic risk (potential to inflict widespread damage) compared to other natural disasters. The risk of encountering a tornado is extremely low, even in the most high risk areas, and there will likely never be a tornado outbreak capable of wiping out a major city. Hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and floods all have much greater societal risks and probably similar levels of catastrophic risk.

Tornado risk DOES affect building codes and housing design, though. Housing in high risk areas are much more likely to have basements or storm cellars. In the Detroit area tornado sirens are tested once a month during the spring and summer, even though strong tornadoes are rare in that area.