From impact glass doors to hurricane proof windows, preventing hurricane damage is crucial to those that live in areas that are often impacted during hurricane season. Though hurricanes can sometimes be mild, they are often dangerous and even deadly. Take this recent hurricane season, for example. There were ten storms that became hurricanes in 2017 alone, something that hasn’t happened in a single hurricane season since the early 1980s.
Hurricane Irma was one of the most deadly of these hurricanes – and one of the most deadly hurricanes that the United States and its territories has ever seen. To put it in to perspective, Hurricane Irma had enough power just within itself to generate nine mini malls or one large corporate billion, an equivalent of seven trillion watts of energy. In Bermuda alone, Hurricane Irma left up to sixty percent of the population homeless when it damaged nearly one hundred percent of all of the buildings. In fact, Hurricane Irma is considered to be the most powerful hurricane ever on the record, with winds that were nearly two hundred miles per hour.
Even though not every hurricane is as dangerous and deadly as Hurricane Irma, it is important for those that live in hurricane affected areas to take every precaution that they can during hurricane season, which run from the start of June all the way through November, marking a period of typically active hurricane activity. Though many of these storms never reach shore, it is important for residents of coastal areas like Florida to be ready and prepared in the cases that they do.
For instance, there are many ways that a Florida homeowner or condo owner can weatherproof their home. Impact glass doors are one example, as impact glass doors can typically withstand winds of at least one hundred miles per hour. Impact glass doors and impact windows can help to keep glass from shattering and causing damage or injury throughout a hurricane. As can be expected, a typical sliding glass door is not recommended in many of these coastal areas, as this seemingly innocuous part of your home can quickly become dangerous during a particularly bad tropical storm or hurricane. Impact glass doors provide a viable alternative. In fact, Florida building code prohibits the use of glass doors that are not impact glass doors if the condo or home is located within one mile of the coast. This small precaution can help to prevent millions of dollars in damages as well as a significant number of injuries likely to be sustained in a hurricane.
It is also necessary for coastal areas like Florida to be vigilant about home inspections, as a well protected and well kept up home is more likely to be able to withstand even a severe hurricane with minimal damage. In order to keep condos as hurricane ready as possible, it is mandated that condo buildings must be inspected at least every forty years by a team of professionals, if not even more frequently than that.
From high impact windows and doors to impact resistant windows, there are many ways that hurricane damage in hurricane affected areas can be considerably lessened. The presence of things such as impact sliding glass doors can be hugely beneficial in preventing injury and damages that would otherwise be likely if not guaranteed to eventually occur in the event of a hurricane.