KeyLargoDave wrote:Miami-Dade County building code DOES require new buildings to withstand 130 mph winds (if not more -- don't have the code in front of me). All residences have shutters. Building components you buy at Home Depot even, like a new front door or a replacement window -- has a Miami-Dade County-approved sticker on it.
Looking at Ivan, it is clear at some point a hurricane will hit and structures already built to withstand 130 to perhaps even 140 mph will be insuficient. A revamping of construction codes in Miami-Dade County is warranted to save lives.
For this to happen, people need to start placing higher value on hurricane safety, rather than costs and how a house or building looks. Pity the poor politician who tries to up the hurricane codes, making homes more expensive. The easier (and current) approach is to try to get people to build safe rooms.
Perhaps another approach would be for large public buildings (like colleges and Universities, county and state buildings, schools, hospitals, etc.) to be built like the hurricane-proof house. They could then be used as hurricane shelters. Maybe certain institutions should be mandated to build this way.
The panhandle evacuated 30 miles inland for Ivan. SFLA residents are asked to evacuate within their county.
In my opinion, any shift in perspective probably won't happen unless FLA gets hit again next year, and perhaps the next. If we dodge the bullet in 2005, nothing will change.....
