The natural world is capable of many destructive acts, often known as “nature’s fury.” This may range from an earthquake near a fault line to avalanches to volcanic eruptions to tornadoes and hurricanes. While there is no way to actually prevent these natural acts from taking place, meteorologists, geologists, and other scientists are hard at work studying these phenomena every year. This is to make evacuation efforts and storm warnings more accurate, and scientists may predict the timing, location, and severity of certain storms. Hurricanes, for example, often strike the Caribbean and the American east coast, and this requires some accurate weather tracking so that safety measures can be taken. People may evacuate a coastal community before a hurricane arrives, but the buildings cannot be moved.
So, larger buildings may have glass door systems with high impact glass, or hurricane proof sliding doors. The same is true of hurricane impact windows, and hurricane sliding doors and high impact windows may be available from local wholesalers. It is construction crews who often look up “impact glass doors miami” to find these hurricane proof glass systems, and searching “impact glass doors miami” may show a number of local vendors who offer this hardware. Looking up “impact glass doors miami” is an important part of constructing a safe building on the Florida coast today.
The Power of Hurricanes
These are ocean-based storms, and they form every year during warmer months. In the Atlantic Ocean in particular, American and Caribbean meteorologists carefully track and study these storms, and this is essential since even smaller hurricanes can be highly destructive. In the 20th century, a total of 158 hurricanes struck the American east coast, and the state of Florida alone was hit with 57 of them, with Texas experiencing 26 more along its Gulf of Mexico coast. Among these storms, Hurricane Andrew ranked among the most powerful. In 1992, this category 5 hurricane struck Miami, and Andrew was an example of how hurricanes can even spawn tornadoes during their lifetime. Hurricane Andrew spawned a total of 62 hurricanes before it finally dissipated.
Trend suggest that now in the 21st century, hurricanes are becoming even more powerful and frequent, likely due to climate change, according to scientists. Hurricane Irma may serve as evidence of this, as that 2017 hurricane stands as the most powerful Atlantic hurricane on record. This mammoth storm contained some seven trillion watts of energy and had 185 MPH winds for 37 hours during its life. Hurricane Irma devastated Puerto Rico and Barbuda, destroying 90% of Barbuda’s buildings. And it is possible that hurricanes of this magnitude may strike again, so construction crews along the east coast are getting ready.
Making Buildings Safer Against Hurricanes
These specialized, hurricane resistant windows and doors cannot be found at ordinary hardware stores. Rather, the manufacturers and wholesale sellers of such hardware typically deal with construction companies who are building hotels, apartment, skyscrapers, and more. A construction project will involve many different sources of materials and skilled workers, and this includes looking up “impact glass doors miami” or “wholesale hurricane windows nearby” to find wholesale sellers. Construction crews will then install these windows and doors.
The same might be done when a business professional purchases an older building in hurricane-prone areas, and inspect the windows and sliding glass doors. If the models are old or worn out, they may be replaced when renovation and construction crews are hired. This can certainly pay off when and if a hurricane strikes in the area. It’s not an option to simply omit all the windows and doors in an apartment or hotel, so wind-resistant windows and doors are a must.
Glass with a glaze system of +105/-130 can resist winds over 100 MPH in strength, and this prevents them from shattering during a storm. Windows and doors built with such glass may also stay strong during drastic air pressure changes inside and outside the building, and these windows may also allow flying debris to bounce right off them. After all, if a window shatters during a hurricane, that will send shards of glass everywhere, and the open window allows winds and rain to get inside the building and wreak havoc. Highly rated hurricane glass can thus prevent expensive property damage.