Construction in a Hurricane Zone

Florida over the last few years has got hit really badly, whilst we are susceptible to the same forces of nature, how we protect ourselves in TCI is best categorized in four key areas.

❓Chance. Our habitated islands have a pretty tiny landmass compared to other Caribbean islands and Florida. The chance, therefore of devastation en-mass is reduced a lot, just by that. Cuba and the DR have seen a lot more damage nationwide, simply because they are larger. It doesn’t mean we should be complacent however or change our readiness to such events. 


🧱 Concrete. America is heavily reliant on softwood as a structural construction material, in TCI this isn’t allowed by code. The vast majority have to be concrete built. If this is the case, the buildings usually fare well in heavy storms. 


🌀 Hurricane-proof design. For buildings built to the legal standard, there should be little safety problem in TCI. Water ingress does happen with the massive pressures generated by the storms but the most important thing is that windows don’t blow, roof stays on and building stays upright! The code that engineers have to adhere to is actually a seismic (earthquake) code which is far more onerous than just a hurricane zone requirement. This is despite the likelihood of a serious earthquake being very very low.


🪵 Cladding. Building products fixed on the outside of the home are carefully considered before selection. There are many cladding products that look amazing that are fixed with rails to the face of a building. Depending on the design of these, they can be plucked off the building by very high winds and turned into missiles. Some are more secure than others, so when we get into detailed design we will assess which products are right for the region of the building.