So you're saying we should use Bubble wrap instead. Got it!

So you live in a gazebo.

Is it really a house if it doesn’t stop the wind or rain?

Similar to the portion of the wall here closest to the house? https://cdn.designrulz.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/outdoor-brick-wall-design.jpg

I think this would depend on the house being designed for this in the first place. A long time back I recall reading about how non-flow-through houses would endure high winds in a hurricane or tornado until one of the windows broke, at which point the hole in the house allowed the wind to ram air in (or suck air out depending on which way the hole was facing) and the whole house would disintegrate.

If my recollection is correct then there might be a slight benefit in the house-wrapping idea in that it might do a bit to prevent a hole like that from being taken advantage of. But only a slight benefit. Probably better to just do the traditional nailing of plywood over windows and such.

Gloss White, technically. It reflects more radiant heat from a bushfire. Not a game changer but could give a very mild advantage.

*brick house, wood house or straw house

So if there is a tornado coming, should I run around opening windows?

This is the correct answer.

How thick do we need?

Ah, yes, good ole ignorant jingoism.

You probably don't know that code in Florida has required concrete reinforced cinder block 1st floor for residential houses since the 90''s, because that's what can withstand hurricanes and flooding. Typical block construction only requires concrete and rebar reinforcement at windows, doorways, etc, while this code requires it in every other opening, thereby tying every course together, from first to last. This prevents flood surges from weakening the structure, and also provides a physical barrier for objects flying at 100mph+.

Code has also required hurricane straps on every rafter, since forever.

There's probably a lot more code I don't know.

But here you'd have them build houses out of stone which wouldn't withstand flooding, unlike reinforced and anchored block, cause in your hubris you think you know something.

Materials like stone in some of the US (I'm specifically thinking places with very little airflow like in parts of the deep swampy south) would be deadly without constant, properly-running mechanical ventilation, for one. In a power outage in the south, people would die without it as stone buildings spend all day getting heat and radiating it back out. That type of house suits some cold climates fine, but is very bad in 35 degrees with 80% humidity. Likewise, in high-humidity environments, mold becomes a real issue without that mechanical ventilation (opening windows does nothing when outside is that humid and particularly when there is no wind).

In earthquake zones, you WANT flexibility; stone and brick are deadly as mortar joints fail and the structure collapses.

I think you underestimate how strong properly-built wooden-construction homes can be. There are also materials and cost issues to building with other things. Finally, as I started with, home construction should be appropriate to the climate in which the house is built with consideration for the local materials and safety.

Here in Japan, we have wood and steel-reinforced concrete. Rarely, you'll find reinforced block, but I think that was a fad that passed. Anything brick-and-motor now has all kinds of steel bracing added for earthquake protection. The house I'm in is not far from Fukushima and survived the 2011-03-11 earthquake and tsunami with only a minor thing to be fixed (and some cosmetic damage to wallpaper). It's made of wood.

Edit: fixed an "a lot of the US" that was left from a previous wording and further clarified what I had in mind. A lot of the US was indeed wrong and not what I meant to post.