Cranes Along the Miami Skyline

[rainydaze]

When STS Andrea was off the SE coast and heading SW a couple weeks ago, it sent waves
to SOFLA that tore the beaches up. I can't imagine how much beach erosion there would be
if it was an actual hurricane heading SW into north Fla or Georgia. Some condos/houses
might actually fall in the water if they lose their foundation. That's a crazy thing to imagine,
but it could really happen I suppose.

[jimvb]

gatorcane, you said that the Miami coastline was crane after crane after crane. After all these hurricanes these past years? The dollar sign is nuts. That's what they are in it for - the money. I am reminded of the 2004 and 2005 seasons, when it was cane after cane after cane. Let's hope 2007 does not copy that.

[ncweatherwizard]

A couple of things downtown has going for it though:
1) The body of water to its east is Biscayne Bay. It's fairly narrow in width and shallow. Storm surge wouldn't be too much of an issue; the main water problem would be high waves generated over the bay by strong wind. So no buildings downtown falling in the ocean.
2) Wilma was bad farther north in Palm Beach--no doubt, but it wasn't horribly, terribly bad. Something with the same intensity over downtown Miami wouldn't cripple it, but something stronger would blow out a lot more glass and do more damage to cranes. Your greater concern might be part of a crane bending into a highrise and doing some damage that way. Someone in engineering told me last year (and I really hadn't thought about it before) that the buildings aren't going to blow over...that's one of the reasons why the glass is allowed to blow out in the first place.

The main concerns with a powerful hurricane (damage-wise) in SFL are wind with more weakly built structures, or surge with buildings at the beach. Downtown would see its share of damage, and yes..it would be a mess, but probably a fixable mess.

Scott

[Derek Ortt]

Scott,

Biscayne bay is more surge prone than the Atlantic. Surges are higher in the Bay. That said, the waves lower (south Beach only had a whoile 1 foot from Katrina, and even a 3 would only produce a few feet... Jeanne only produced a 6 foot surge where it made landfall and it was a VERY large cat 3). That said, there is a ridgeline near the bay; thus, surge impacts would almost certainly not be the main impact from a Miami major hurricane

Wind, wind, wind, and flooding are the major impacts. We do though need to remember that at the highrises, the winds are 1-2 categories higher than at the 10m level, so a cat 3 would produce cat 4-5 winds at the tops of the high rises, which is an EF-3 tornado. Could see a lot of the interiors of the high rises sucked out, while the building remains standing

[Normandy]

Scott,

Biscayne bay is more surge prone than the Atlantic. Surges are higher in the Bay. That said, the waves lower (south Beach only had a whoile 1 foot from Katrina, and even a 3 would only produce a few feet... Jeanne only produced a 6 foot surge where it made landfall and it was a VERY large cat 3). That said, there is a ridgeline near the bay; thus, surge impacts would almost certainly not be the main impact from a Miami major hurricane

Wind, wind, wind, and flooding are the major impacts. We do though need to remember that at the highrises, the winds are 1-2 categories higher than at the 10m level, so a cat 3 would produce cat 4-5 winds at the tops of the high rises, which is an EF-3 tornado. Could see a lot of the interiors of the high rises sucked out, while the building remains standing

Why did Andrew produce a 16 foot surge (being a small hurricane) and jeanne produce a 6 foot surge (being a large hurricane)?

[Derek Ortt]

Andrew produced it in Biscayne bay, while Jeanne produced it on the Atlantic Ocean

[JPmia]

A couple of things downtown has going for it though:
1) The body of water to its east is Biscayne Bay. It's fairly narrow in width and shallow. Storm surge wouldn't be too much of an issue; the main water problem would be high waves generated over the bay by strong wind. So no buildings downtown falling in the ocean.
2) Wilma was bad farther north in Palm Beach--no doubt, but it wasn't horribly, terribly bad. Something with the same intensity over downtown Miami wouldn't cripple it, but something stronger would blow out a lot more glass and do more damage to cranes. Your greater concern might be part of a crane bending into a highrise and doing some damage that way. Someone in engineering told me last year (and I really hadn't thought about it before) that the buildings aren't going to blow over...that's one of the reasons why the glass is allowed to blow out in the first place.

The main concerns with a powerful hurricane (damage-wise) in SFL are wind with more weakly built structures, or surge with buildings at the beach. Downtown would see its share of damage, and yes..it would be a mess, but probably a fixable mess.

Scott

I agree. There are many more things to worry about in South Florida than the skyscrapers in downtown MIA. How about upwards of 5 million people without power for 2 weeks if we get a major direct hit.

[xraymike1]

The high rise buildings that are near the water are required to actually lose the walls of the first floor so that the water will flow thru and not impede the flow of the flood waters. The problem would be if the pilings that were driven deep down to form the foundation were to have the sand and soil washed out.

Wilma cause a lot of storm damage in Broward and Dade county. More than I had thought it would have.

Derek was right on the strengthening that Wilma did as it got the warm waters of the Gulfstream under her skirts and she really kicked her heels up.

While asking to get off work so I could batten down the hatches at home, my boss asked why? She said, "It is only Category 1 storm, and I didn't even put up my shutters!" I told her I need to put mine up for only one reason and one reason alone. She asked what was the reason? I said that there was a Hurricane coming, doesn't matter if it is a 1 or 5 you still need to prepare for it!

[jinftl]

Scroll through to take a look at the amount of constructions people are talking about....last I heard there were 24 highrises under construction or about to break ground in Miami that would be 150 meters (492 feet) or taller....


[web]http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=131076[/web]

[gatorcane]

Jinftl that is incredible.

Some excellent pictures of all the construction in a city that is highly vulnerable to tropical systems.

[Extremeweatherguy]

Let's hope Miami is spared this year! With all those cranes, any repeat of Wilma or worse is going to turn the city into a warzone. As they spin, fall and crash into the skyscrapers I would not be surprised if they did more than just cosmetic damage. Could be a serious issue.

BTW, for an idea of what wind (lesser than hurricane force even) can do to construction equiptment, check out these videos...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37VZu5ZqmPE[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4uOlKq3pWs[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPNGbv4EhL4[/youtube]

[jlauderdal]

I was driving down I-95 into the port of Miami this weekend. It's the first time I have been to Miami in a while. I cannot *believe* the number of high rise condos going up. All you see in the distance is crane after crane after crane. I hope the building codes are strict because if an Andrew-like storm decides to hit downtown, it may just be the most costly natural disaster in US History.

Thoughts?

the developers sitting on those notes can't believe the number of high rises either considering the weak demand for those units.

[caribepr]

"Money is the root of all evil"

Dealing here with development that is completely disrespectful to the land, the sea, the people and the culture, I have reason to think of this quote often. But the real quote is even better and oh so terribly true...

From The Phrase Finder site (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/238725.html)

"Often misquoted as 'money is the root of all evil'. Originates in the Bible, Timothy 6:10 (King James Version):

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

No matter what your religious or lack of dogma is, anyone living in coastal areas anywhere in the world sees the results of that love, and its destructive force, all the time. Let's hope the sorrows of *themselves* come faster than the destruction. Because Nature will have her way...

[Jinkers]

I see those cranes everyday, I work downtown Miami, so I drive by there all the time, amazing, I hope they're up to code.

[gatorcane]

Are the new cranes building condos or offices?