'Stop wasting money taping your windows for storms'

[Troberg]

Originally Posted by Spam & Cookies-mmm

3M has a window film that's supposed to be strong enough to resist most hurricane damage.

And, if it's the film I think it is, it also keeps burglars out, as it is difficult as hell to cut through.

[Dasla]

Originally Posted by Cervus

I think the "money wasting" would be the risk of your windows breaking and needing replacement (not to mention storm damage that blows inside your house through the broken window). It's better to invest in good storm shutters than to take the risk of having to replace broken glass panes and a water/wind damaged interior.

Honestly, considering you get at least a weeks' notice that one might be headed your way, it's the only natural disaster that I'd want to deal with.

Yeah, considering the town I grew up in had had two (I think) hurricanes hit in the time I have been alive (I am almost 42).

I said in a earlier post that we don't tend to get them in Brisbane but it does happen. I remember about twenty years ago, one could was threatening Brisbane. I was with a friend's family to go on holiday and they were shutting the house up, and weren't even planning to put their out door furniture inside or secure it in any way. I suggested they should. I was told (rather condescendly), by them "You are really worried about this aren't you, it will be ok" no I was overly worried "about this" I knew what a hurricane was, it's not just a bad thunder storm.

Luckly it didn't hit (but they mostly don't) but ever since then I am worried what will happen if one does hit if most residents think like this.

Oh yeah another comment I have heard about a hurricane hitting Brisbane is "We will be ok, our bay while protect us" . Now I don't know enough about the protective power of geography to comment at the time, but it doesn't sound right.

Growing up we were also told to keep one window open during a hurricane. I was about to type it had to be for hurricanes cause we don't get tornadoes where I grew up but a tornado went through my old suburb the other week.


Had to actively remind my self to type hurricane instead of cyclone.

[Dasla]

Oops sorry I meant to quote Mamma Duck in the above post, not Cervus It time to get to bed I think.

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

Originally Posted by Dasla

Oh yeah another comment I have heard about a hurricane hitting Brisbane is "We will be ok, our bay while protect us" . Now I don't know enough about the protective power of geography to comment at the time, but it doesn't sound right.

I'm not sure. I know that in my local area, the gulf front properties sustain more storm surge damage than those on the bay, but our bay is protected by barrier islands which seem to take the brunt of the storm. That doesn't do much for properties hit by the high winds and tornadoes though.

[DawnStorm]

Aren't house shutters supposed to provide protection?

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

Who has shutters?

[Lainie]

I don't know about Florida or Maryland, but in the areas I'm familiar with, the shutters on houses are purely decorative. They wouldn't provide any significant protection against wind or water even if you could close them over the windows, and you probably can't.

[rangerdog]

I am currently making hurricane shutters for my beach house.

[Lainie]

Hurricane shutters will absolutely help.

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

Very few people in my hurricane-prone area have storm shutters. The few that do are mostly in the high-impact zones nearest the beach. The rest of us make do by boarding up our windows before the storm. Or we take our chances. Hardly anyone uses tape anymore.

[snapdragonfly]

Originally Posted by Cervus

Honestly, considering you get at least a weeks' notice that one might be headed your way, it's the only natural disaster that I'd want to deal with.

That's always been my view. If you are the kind of person who does all the "shoulds" - well known emergency preparedness basics such the few irreplacable valuables and vital records stored somewhere fast to grab, gas in the car, an emergency plan, and adequate insurance, etc, you have a good chance of survival and eventual recovery - even if there's not much to come home to. Katrina was such a tragedy because so much of the loss was avoidable.

Hurricanes - my least unfavorite natural disaster!

[Wintermute]

Originally Posted by Cervus

Except that in a hurricane, solid 100+ mph winds (and rain) are blowing against your home for hours. Roofs are lifting off houses. Concrete, cars, and large trees are flying through the air. If your house is not secured, when your windows break you're going to have a hell of a lot more mess, water, and flying objects to worry about than just some broken glass. Everything becomes a potentially deadly missile in a hurricane.

There is a Mythbusters episode on this topic. It was amazing to see which objects could get embedded in another object. Some of the objects I didn't think would have enough mass to do any damage, but I was VERY wrong.