“Thanks for writing the NHC. I spoke to our FEMA liason and you have a
good point. I am forwarding your email onto AOML / Hurricane Reasearch
Division as they host the page that you are inquiring about.

Thanks for letting us know.”

A Big Wind thanks Christopher for his quick action!

The short story as we learned from the FEMA reps is that 1) the information about drilling holes in your plywood to eleviate pressure from Hurricane force winds is out-of-date and no longer recommended. 2) The old information about installing shutters in window insets with lag bolts IS old but would be an effective (although no longer recommended) means of shuttering your structure with plywood.

One of the FEMA reps we spoke with had worked for The Red Cross for over 15 years and was familiar with the recommendations on plywood shuttering published by The Red Cross. The reason that public safety groups like The Red Cross and FEMA have started recommending the overlap method is that IT IS FASTER and just as effective. The reasoning goes that with ANY public safety issue, from giving CPR to putting up Hurricane Shutters, simpler is better. The overlap method of installing plywood shutters *is* easier to accomplish for those of us not gifted with the handyman gene and it takes less time even if you are good with a measuring tape, drill and hammer.