Holy crap.. lots of destruction.. Just wondering.. why do most american houses look like they are made out of wood when huricanes hit?
I've notice it alot.. i couldn't really find any typically brick built (like UK) houses when i was in Florida.. i may be wrong but they all looked like they were made out of panels of wood?
Alot of homes down here are a wood frames and meet hurricane requirements. And when you look at them it looks like they are built very cheap. I live in a house that was build in 1929 and very solid. They just don't build them like they use to.
its a cultural thing: in the 1700's, early 1800's, america was a GIANT forest. cheap building supplies. in rural areas, that meant log cabins. 4 grown men can put one up in less than a week if it means not sleeping with the bears n ****. in urban settings, stick & sheet building became the fashion whereever large quarries werent available. and face it, wood is easier and faster to work with than limestone and brick.
Just seems a bit silly tbh with all the hurricanes.. tornadoes etc etc you get in America.. cos it sure as hell takes alot more to take down a brick house.
actually, when built properly a wooden house has a better chance of survival than a brick/stone house. wood will give before it breaks, and stone wont. google for photos of andrew in '91 - when it hit you could see a mile wide path of destruction, except for the 2 subdivisions that Jimmy Carter and Habitat for Humantiy had built, using modified Japanese anti-earthquake technology - all wood too. a few houses lost some shingles, but were otherwise untouched. ok i cant find the pictures im looking for now, but heres one of some plywood that was driven quite nealy through a tree ... http://weathersavvy.com/HurricaneAndrew2o.jpg damn.
