How would the high-rises in Miami hold up in Cat 5 winds?

[logybogy]

If anyone is familiar with the Miami area, downtown Miami and Miami Beach are filled with hundreds of high rise buildings everywhere you look it seems like a new 50 story tower is under construction.

How will these buildings fare under Cat 5 winds?

[Matthew5]

They will be distroyed no quastion about that

[Pebbles]

Was touched on yesterday..here's the thread...

http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=38896

[Guest]

I dont think they would be destroyed... They would no doubt have most of their windows blown out and maybe lose a few walls. But a hurricane couldn't demolish a steel structure... no way.

[WeatherEmperor]

Well if you have a Cat 5 hurricane striking anywhere across the coast you can expect some major major damage. However if and God forbid another Cat 5 strikes south florida, the damage will most likely not be Andrew type. south florida building codes are some of the toughest in the US, but there will still be lots and lots of damage though.

<RICKY>

[Windtalker]

You have to remember that Andrew was a small compact storm. Here in Hollywood we had winds of maybe 100mph Gusts, no where near the damage of Homestead. If Frances were to hit up this way, and with her being a bigger storm, we would have the same kind of destruction over a wider area than that of Andrew.

[Rainband]

I dont think they would be destroyed... They would no doubt have most of their windows blown out and maybe lose a few walls. But a hurricane couldn't demolish a steel structure... no way.

Look at the steel light poles and freeway signs in Charleys path

[ColdFront77]

You have to remember that Andrew was a small compact storm. Here in Hollywood we had winds of maybe 100mph Gusts, no where near the damage of Homestead. If Frances were to hit up this way, and with her being a bigger storm, we would have the same kind of destruction over a wider area than that of Andrew.

That is true. There were just cirrus clouds over the area (and the roof ), I am sitting under now when Hurricane Andrew made 'his' approach to and over the extreme southern tip of Florida.

I am about 240 miles NNW of Miami.

[Lindaloo]

I know the Dauphin Island, Alabama bridge did not survive a CAT 3.

[B-Bear]

Theoretically, those high-rise buildings have been designed to endure cat 5 winds. But bear in mind, theoretically, the twin towers should have been able to withstand being hit by jets.

You never know for sure until they're put to the test.

[BocaGirl]

If anyone is familiar with the Miami area, downtown Miami and Miami Beach are filled with hundreds of high rise buildings everywhere you look it seems like a new 50 story tower is under construction.

How will these buildings fare under Cat 5 winds?

The long and short of it is that no one can tell you how any structure will fare in a Cat 4 or Cat 5 storm. During intense storms like a Frances promises to be, there so much going on that it's impossible to predict what forces will be at work.

For example, the high rise buildings along the beach may stand the force of the winds but have damage due to foundation problems. Or flying debris can cause unforseen damage. Some drunken idiot who refuses to evacuate can start a fire that burns down several apartments. Did you know that during Andrew the wind blew the rain sideways and caused water damage inside the walls of many structures? It could happen here too. And finally small tornados can wipe out some buildings but leave others intact.

OR, nothing bad will happen at all.

Remember, and this is the important part, what happens during a storm is part of the unknown. We can plan for the worst with stringent building codes and evacuations, but we can't predict with certainty what will happen.

The best thing to do is NOT WORRY ABOUT IT. Seriously. Prepare, prepare, prepare.

BocaGirl
Barbara