preparing

The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season begins at midnight, so we'll spend some of the coming weekend checking our hurricane kit. We need to make sure the batteries and canned food are up to date, and that we've got plenty of bottled water.

surviving hurricanes

Carol M. Highsmith's America,
Library of Congress,
Prints and Photographs Division.

Hurricane Irene is slowly passing offshore, leaving us with rain and clouds, but nothing unusual for a summer in the sub-tropics. The storm may cause catastrophic damage farther north, however, and we are hoping our friends in the Carolinas, the mid-Atlantic and New England are safe over the next few days.

So how do you design buildings to survive winds in excess of 150mph and torrential rain?