Severe weather is nothing to take lighting, especially when it comes to states that are often dramatically impacted by the destruction caused by hurricanes. After all, hurricane season is a long run, spanning from the first day of June all the way to the very end of November. And while some hurricanes are mild, others have left a path of death and destruction after first touching down of U.S. soil.
Hurricane Irma, for instance, proved to be particularly destructive, even so powerful as to be considered to be the post powerful storm to ever be generated in the Atlantic Ocean – at least in recorded history, that is. Classed as a severe Category five storm, its winds reached and sustained an incredibly fast speed of one hundred and eighty five miles and hour for an impressive thirty seven hours – nearly two whole days. With seven trillion watts of energy, it held more power than all of the bombs used throughout the entirety of the second world war – combined.
So it’s really no surprise that the damage that was caused by Hurricane Irma was considerable and, for many places, truly devastating. If we look at the country of Barbados, we can really begin to see the impact and legacy of Hurricane Irma. This is due to the fact that in the country of Barbados alone, up to ninety percent of all the buildings and structures sustained some damage, much of it very serious. In fact, it was so serious that more than half of the population (sixty percent, to be more exact) found themselves homeless in the aftermath of the hurricane and are still struggling to rebuild their lives today.
But as devastating and life changing as hurricanes can be, there are ways in which we can protect ourselves against them. This can be seen clearly in the state of Florida, a hurricane heavy state, and the way that buildings are constructed there. In Florida, the use of a hurricane sliding glass door system is common, as are hurricane sliding glass doors in and of themselves, as well as hurricane resistant windows and other uses of high impact glass.
In fact, the use of the impact glass door system is even required in many parts of the state where hurricanes are common, as the regular glass door system would simply not cut it in protecting a building. Having impact resistant windows and an impact glass door system is required by law for those dwelling that are within one mile of the coast, as these are the areas that tend to be hit the hardest by hurricanes. An impact resistant glass door system can make a huge difference when it comes down to it, even though it might seem to the casual observer or someone who doesn’t live in an area where hurricanes are present that such a glass door system would be particularly important.
Regular inspections, not only of any given glass door system but of the entire apartment building, are also very important. In Florida, such inspections must occur at least once for every forty years that passes and many are recommended even more frequently than that. These inspections help to ensure that homes and buildings are safe for people to reside in and, if anything should be found to be wrong with any building or other such place of residence, it can be remedied promptly, therefore protecting the safety of anyone who lives within it.
Of course, an impact resistant glass door system can also be ideal for people who live in areas of the country that are regularly at the threat of tornadoes, which can often pose just as much of a danger as a hurricane can. Aside from the impact resistant glass door system, it is also ideal for such homes to have a space to seek shelter from the tornado, such as a basement or a cellar. In fact, the vast majority of homes in the Midwest, where the worst tornadoes tend to be spawned, have an extensive basement, which some people will even have finished and use as another room in their house – but that provides important protection nevertheless.