wind hazard prevention

8/13/2019 Wind Hazard Prevention

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Lesson 3. ProtectingAgainst Wind Damage

Introduction

Wind can tear the roofs from buildings, rip siding from exterior walls, and throwdebris through windows. Falling trees can crush roofs and walls.

Of course, hurricanes and tornadoes generate exceptionally destructive winds thatcan turn buildings into piles of rubble. But high winds can happen anywhere, andstrike during many types of storms.

Self-Assessment Question: How much warning do you have to protect againstwind damage

Hurricane watches and warnings usually provide ! or " days# notice to protectyour home or business and evacuate, if necessary.

$ornadoes, on the other hand, strike with little warning. %nsuring the safety ofyour family and employees becomes a top priority.

Figure 1. Map of the United States Showing Maximum Wind Velocities by Zone

he map !ey shows the wind "elocity for Zone 1 at 1#$ mph% Zone & shows the wind "elocity at 1'$ mph%

Zone # shows the wind "elocity at &$$ mph% and Zone ( shows the wind "elocity at &)$ mph. *ther

considerations shown include the special wind region and the hurricane susceptible region.

Protecting Your Home or Small Business From Disasters 3-1


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How Great Is our !is" of Wind Damage#

&our home or place of business may be located near a coastal area that is sub'ectto hurricane(force winds, or you may live in an area at risk for tornadoes.

$he map on the preceding page titled )Wind *ones in the +nited tates- showsareas that are susceptible to hurricanes and high winds.

Self-Assessment Questions:

n which /one is your house or place of business located

00 *one 00 *one 00 *one 00 *one 1

How high is the windspeed you might face 0000000 mph.

One( and two(story wood frame houses are especially vulnerable to wind damage,as are manufactured homes.

$onstructural Protecti%e &easures

$o protect against wind damage without making any structural changes to abuilding, you can2

dentify and remove trees and branches that could fall on the buildingwalls or roof, or on power lines.

dentify and repair loose or damaged building components such as siding,soffit and fascia, shingles and roofing, brickwork, and brick chimneys.

3 hurricane brings torrential rain, and severe rainstorms may accompany atornado. Buildings damaged by wind often suffer water damage as well. Waterdriven by hurricane(force wind can enter through usually rain(tight openings, andrain entering through a damaged roof can lay waste to the inside of a building.

4ake sure that items such as important documents and irreplaceable personalob'ects such as photographs are stored in a safe location, preferably in watertightcontainers. 5onsider putting extra cash and important papers in a safe deposit boxat your bank.

$onstructural Protecti%e &easures(Continued)



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Protecting Doors

$he exterior walls, doors, and windows are the protective shell of your home. fthe shell is broken during a hurricane or tornado, high winds can enter the homeand put pressure on the roof and walls, causing serious damage.

Double-Entry Doors

For each double door, at least one of the doors should besecured at both the top of the door frame and the floorwith sturdy sliding bolts. 4ost bolts that come withdouble doors, however, are not strong enough to withstandhigh winds.

&our local hardware store can help you select the properbolts. ome door manufacturers provide reinforcing bolt

kits made specifically for their doors.

Protecting Doors: Garage Doors

f the garage door fails, winds can enter your home and blow out doors, windows,walls, and the roof.

8oublewide 9two(car: garage doors can pose a problem during hurricanes becausethey are so large that they wobble as the high winds blow and can pull out of theirtracks or collapse from wind pressure.

Protecting Your Home or Small Business From Disasters 3-

+olts at to and bottom ofinactive door need to

be strong enoug toresist urricane %inds

&ctivedoor

,nactivedoor

Figure ). +einforcement

of 0ouble 0oors Within a ome

2!#"! oriontal +racing

ingesCenter suort

Figure '. +einforcement of

0ouble arage 0oors


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ome garage doors can be strengthened with retrofit kits.4any garage doors can be reinforced at their weakestpoints. 3sk your building department for guidance onwhat to do.

7etrofitting your garage doors involves installinghori/ontal bracing onto each panel. $his hori/ontalbracing may be available in a kit from the garage doormanufacturer. &ou may also need heavier hinges andstronger center supports and end supports for your door.

5heck the track on your garage door. With both hands,grab a section of each track and see if it is loose or if it canbe twisted. f so, a stronger track should be installed.

4ake sure that it is anchored to the !!x 6!s inside the wallwith heavy wood bolts or properly attached to masonrywith expansion bolts.

Protecting Windows

nstalling storm shutters is one of the best ways to protect your home or place ofbusiness from hurricane damage.

>urchase or make storm shutters for all exposed windows, glass surfaces, Frenchdoors, sliding glass doors, and skylights. $here are many types of manufacturedshutters made out of wood, steel, or aluminum. &ou can also make storm shutterswith ?@A(inch thick exterior(grade plywood.

Protecting Your Home or Small Business From Disasters 3-.

/nd suort

Trac0

Garage$oor

Glider'eel

Trac0

'ood +olt

Figure 2. arage 0oor +einforcement


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>lywood shutters that you make yourself, if installedproperly, can offer a high level of protection from flyingdebris during a hurricane. >lywood shutters can beinstalled on all types of buildings.

Before installing shutters, check with your local buildingofficial to find out if a building permit is re=uired.

3t is important that you ha"e your shutters ready now%

and that you mar! and store them so they can be

easily installed during a hurricane watch.

Figure 4. wo Methods for 3nstalling

-lywood Shutters

'ornado !is"s

3 tornado is a violent windstorm characteri/ed by a twisting, funnel(shapedcloud. $ornadoes have been recorded in all ? states, though they form mosttypically in a broad area of the 3merican 4idwest and outh. $he below map,)$ornado 7isk 3reas in the 5ontinental +nited tates,- shows the relative risk of

Protecting Your Home or Small Business From Disasters 3-

ornado +is! 5reas in the 6ontinental United States

ornado +is!HighestHigh

Cote2 Co data wereprovided for 3laska andHawaii.

ITS Mapping and Analysis CenterWashington, DC

2!# "! +racing

12! ,ncrements!D

! ly%ood oles at 12! intervals

oles in center of ly%ood for ressure e4ualiations


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tornadoes.

Figure 7. Map of the United States Showing 5reas

at 8ow% igh% and ighest +is! of ornadoes

ighest +is! States, -ortions of *9% 5+% 35% 3:% MS% 58% 5% -5% :;

igh +is! States, -ortions of :


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Figure 1$. -ossible Safe +oom 8ocations

$he purpose of a safe room or a wind shelter is to provide a space to seek refugethat provides a high level of protection. &ou can build a safe room in one ofseveral places in your home or place of business2

$he basement.

3top a concrete slab(on(grade foundation or garage floor.

3n interior room on the first floor.

afe rooms built below ground level provide the greatest protection, but a saferoom built in a first(floor interior room also can provide the necessary protection.Below(ground safe rooms must be designed to avoid accumulating water duringthe heavy rains that often accompany severe windstorms.

$o protect its occupants, a safe room must be built to withstand high winds andflying debris, even if the rest of the building is severely damaged or destroyed.5onsider the following when building a safe room2

$he safe room must be ade=uately anchored to resist overturning anduplift.

$he walls, ceiling, and door of the shelter must withstand wind pressureand resist penetration by windborne ob'ects and falling debris.

$he connections between all parts of the safe room must be strong enough toresist the wind. ections of either interior or exterior building walls that are usedas walls of the safe room must be separated from the structure of the building sothat damage to the building will not cause damage to the safe room.

'ornado !is"s: Safe !ooms(Continued)

+eferences

pecific guidance is available from F%43 on the construction of both residentialsafe rooms and community shelters.



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$aking helter From the torm2 Building a afe 7oom nside &our House.E(!"".Brochure providing details aout otaining in!or"ation on ho# to uild a#ind$sa!e roo" to #ithstand tornado, hurricane, and other high #inds%

$aking helter From the torm2 Building a afe 7oom nside &our House.

F%43("!.Manual #ith detailed in!or"ation aout ho# to uild a #ind$sa!e roo" to

#ithstand tornado, hurricane, and other high #inds%

Web link2 http2@@www.fema.gov@mit@saferoom@



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Protecting our Place of (usiness

When a place of business is damaged, the business owner faces the cost to repairor replace the building9s:. n addition, the business can suffer loss of inventory,business interruption, and loss of wages for employees.

tructural measures recommended to protect your place of business from winddamage are2

+se threaded fasteners to attach metal roof decking. Welds are oftenunable to carry uplift loads.

n tornado(prone areas, use enhanced wind design for roof coverings onessential buildings.

+se ade=uate ties to foundations and roofs when reinforcing concrete andpartially reinforced masonry.

4ake ties between concrete and other materials with drilled(in fasteners or

cast(in(place fasteners. %ngineer and construct masonry walls to support the specific architecture

of the building 9i.e., exterior wall panels, parapets, and decorativefinishes:. 8iaphragm action to resist wind(generated shear forces must bemaintained and reinforcement must be properly placed in concrete andmasonry walls to reduce the possibility of collapse during high windstorms.

+se anchors in precast concrete buildings to prevent the uplift of hollowcore planks and other precast elements during high winds.

3void the use of powder(driven anchors to attach bottom plates of walls toconcrete unless the anchors are very closely spaced to resist pull(out.

4inimi/e the creation of windborne debris by appropriately designing,manufacturing, and installing architectural features.



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Success Stories

$o read more about uccess tories, go to Cew uccess tory ite.

Moore% *!lahoma

8on taley and his family are no strangers to storms and tornadoes. $heir firsthome was hit by a tornado in October GGA and suffered minor damage but wasdestroyed by another tornado on 4ay ", GGG. $hey rode out both storms insidethe house. Dt was such a frightening sound,D he said. DWe decided we werentgoing to ride out another one inside the house.D

n 8ecember !, the taley#s new home was ready. hortly after moving in,they had an above(ground safe room constructed on the back patio. $he concreteroom has A(inch thick walls, an A(inch thick ceiling, a (inch foundation, and asliding entry door made of !(gauge steel with three(=uarter inch plywood on

each side. $he safe room is e=uipped with battery(powered lights and a battery(powered television.

When the warning sirens sounded on 4ay A, !", 8on took shelter in the saferoom along with his dog and two cats to ride out the storm feeling very protectedand safe. D was watching it on $1 in there,D he recalled. D could see it wascoming my way and could hear it coming. could hear the roar. $hats a soundyou never forget.D

When he emerged from the shelter, he found his house in shambles with the roofripped off. Other houses on the street were also heavily damaged or destroyed.

$he taleys used their safe room following the tornado to store and protectbelongings they had salvaged.

$he taley#s home was among the more than " homes destroyed in the city thatday. Whereas a severe tornado that hit the city in 4ay of GGG claimed 66 lives,there were no deaths in the !" tornado. $he absence of fatalities is beingattributed to community preparedness, improved early warning systems, and themany safe rooms and shelters that have been built.

taley sums it all up, D$he safe room saved my life, it came through with flyingcolors. ts worth a million bucks to me.D

Success Stories

6harlotte arbor% Florida

Hurricane 5harley came to 5harlotte Harbor one Friday, with winds up to 6mph, leaving the community stunned. Buildings were destroyed, and streets werefilled with debris and downed power lines. While the storm was swirling through



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town, " newspaper employees braved the storm at their office unable to gethome. $hey were dry and secure because the structure was built to resist strongwinds and the windows were fitted with storm shutters.

n the mid(GGs, 7ichard Hackney, 1ice >resident of Operations, lobbied thestockholders for storm shutters to protect the Sunnewspaper building in 5harlotte

Harbor. His experience with Hurricane 3ndrew taught him that an investmentwould be worth it. $he shareholders agreed, and the shutters were purchased forI?,.

When installed, storm shutters maintain building integrity by protecting thewindows from direct wind pressure and windborne debris. f flying debrisbreached large office windows, wind(driven rain could enter and cause the loss ofvaluable computers containing information on news stories, research, subscribers,and other files. ntense winds coming in through these windows would cause)uplift- pressure on the roof system. >ressure inside the building, along with thespeed of the wind above the roof surface, could lift the roof causing catastrophic

damage to the building, its contents, and anyone working inside.

3ccording to 8avid 8unn(7ankin, >resident of the Sun, )$he shutters helpedkeep the roof on and kept us operational. f we had lost the roofJ don#t knowJit#s frightening. Eost revenue, subscriber credits, computer replacement, presse=uipment repairs or replacement, and production outsourcing all add up. Wecould have been looking at I" million to get us back to where we could put outthe paper here.-

$he entire 5harlotte Harbor area was without power, but even that did not stopthe Sunfrom publishing. $he paper was without power for 6 days. However,

because the building integrity had been maintained, they were otherwiseoperational. nstead of shutting down, they hooked up a rented, K?L1generator, and published the newspaper.

)We didn#t miss a beat,- said 8unn(7ankin.

)t#s not 'ust about the dollars, it#s about publishing.- said Hackney. )t#s noteven an option not to publish. We have to be able to protect our people, ourbuilding, our presses, and maintain our capacity to publish. We met our goal.-

$he Suncame out on the 4onday following 5harley#s hit on Friday.



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Summar): *e) Ste+s 'o Protect Against Wind Damage

$his lesson reviewed the following steps you can take to protect your home orbusiness against wind damage.

Lnow your risk of wind damage. 5ertain areas have a high risk of damagefrom hurricanes, tornadoes, or high winds.

7emove overhanging and dead tree limbs that could fall on buildings orpower lines.

7epair loose or damaged building components such as siding and roofshingles.

>lace important possessions and valuables in safe locations.

ecure2

4anufactured home anchors.

Outbuildings.

Boats.

4ove breakable items away from doors and windows. Board up doors andwindows.

Bring in outdoor furniture and other personal property kept outdoors.

$urn off propane tanks.

4ake structural changes, including2

Bracing and strapping the roof.

4aking doors and garage doors more wind(resistant. nstalling storm shutters on windows.

5onsider building a safe room to protect against tornadoes.

3s you construct or modify your place of business, design for windresistance by incorporating recommended fasteners, ties, reinforcements, andanchors.

$he protective measures you consider depend on where your house or business islocated.

s your location vulnerable to hurricanes, or at high risk of tornadoes f so,decide which protective measures make the most sense in your situation.

$ake appropriate nonstructural protective measures.

5onsider whether retrofitting and@or building a safe room would beadvisable.

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'est ourself

$he =uestions below review key points in protecting against wind damage. 3ftercompleting the =uestions, you can check your answers on the answer sheetlocated after the course glossary.

. Hurricanes can be predicted, so you have ! to " days to prepare, but

00000000000000000000000000 strike with little warning.

!. 4ark any of the following structures that are especially susceptible to winddamage.

Brick houses

One( and two(story wood(frame houses

4anufactured homes

teel(frame commercial buildings

". Write below three protective, nonstructuralmeasures you can take in the !6hours before a hurricane is predicted to hit your area.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

6. elect the protective measure on the right that would be used to protect thestructure on the left, and write the appropriate letter on each blank space.

00 7oof

00 8ouble(entry doors

00 ;arage door

00 Window

a. ecure with sliding bolts

b. nstall hori/ontal bracing

c. nstall hurricane straps

d. Buy or make storm shutters

?. afe rooms built below ground level provide the greatest protection.

00000 $rue 00000 False


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