In the United States, the force of a tornado is judged by the damage to structures.

VOA: special.2010.05.11

They are based on levels of damage to twenty-eight different kinds of structures and other objects.

VOA: special.2011.04.19

Many of the aftershocks have been measured at over magnitude 5 enough to cause additional damage, including toppling structures weakened by the original earthquake.

VOA: standard.2010.01.13

The day after my visit, a major typhoon was set to hit Nagasaki (tours are suspended in bad weather), likely to damage the structures even more.

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As in earlier jets, the agency wanted assurances that in the event of a battery emergency, the high temperatures wouldn't damage surrounding structures and any smoke or fumes would be sucked outside rather than into the cabin.

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Of those, as many as 2, 500 are deemed dangerous because they may collapse and damage neighboring structures or injure people, Meffert said, and 120 homes -- or what's left of them -- need to be knocked down immediately because they're either in roadways, on sidewalks or on other property.

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