Entries Tagged 'Editorial' ↓

It was good to see a county preparing for pet shelter in the recent news.

“COLLIER COUNTY:  Collier County officials have taken a big step toward protecting pets during a hurricane. Collier County Commissioners have agreed to spend $25,000 on supplies for a new pet-friendly hurricane shelter.

In fact, the future site of the pet-friendly hurricane shelter will actually be the maintenance building at the brand new North Collier Regional Park. Collier County Emergency Management officials say they picked the site because they can easily separate pets into one building while their owners will only be a few feet away in another building.”

Usually, having a pets means that you can’t go to a shelter during a Hurricane and that means people either have to weather the storm with their animals, leave them behind at their home or evacuate with Fido and Fluffy in tow. Usually in the days after the Hurricane has come through an area, we see stray dogs and cats all over the neighborhoods, or worse, pictures of animals tied up outside and left to fend for themselves.  Hopefully, as Hurricane preparedness improves there will be more options like those in Collier County.

Tropical Storm Ernesto will go down as the storm that wasn’t - at least from the perspective of the U.S. Mainland that was bracing for our first real threat of the 2006 Hurricane Season. Don’t get me wrong - we’re all very happy that Ernesto broke down like a Wall Street Junk Bond Dealer. And, we’re already asking ourselves and our community what we can learn from the storm - or from our response to the storm.

First up - the mainstream media is about to jump to the immediate conclusion that since Ernesto fizzled, future storms are more likely to be ignored by area residents. This logic is easier to understand when you spend hours struggling with storm shutters, waiting in gas lines and enduring grocery cart cattle calls that are right out of a wild west movie only to learn that it was all for naught. We look across the street at our neighbor that didn’t do a thing and we hate them for being so damn lucky. We become numb to it all. Apathetic would be the watch word here.

How about all the things that were smoother this year than last?

I noticed quite a few improvements here in the West Palm Beach, Florida area. Over the last couple of years all your basic Hurricane supplies quickly ran out. Trying to find some C or D batteries, water, propane, flashlights or anything else used to ‘camp’ inside a stifling hot oven (better known here as a house without air conditioning from the storm aftermath) was next to impossible. This year, I found both grocery stores and our local home improvement stores both well stocked and relatively uncrowded.

Have distribution methods and preparedness improved in these retail sectors or were we all just better stocked-up after two years of constant reminders, delivered to us by high and low pressure fronts that steered nasty Tropical Storms and Hurricanes to our neck of the woods?

Here’s what hasn’t changed.

People, including yours truly, still put off taking action to protect themselves and their homes until the last minute. Hey, we’re busy, just like you, and we don’t have time to waste. If we’re going to prepare, we all have some internal threshold that needs to be met before our basic human desire to live kicks in and fires up the save-your-ass afterburners.

People still rush around like morons, including yours truly, after finally accepting that a storm may in fact arrive on our doorstep.

People are a little more on edge, blaring horns a little longer than needed, waving arms around excitedly, gesturing with hands and fingers in ways that we’d be otherwise quite embarrassed about.

Well, maybe not me.

Then there’s the gasoline…

If there’s one thing people don’t like it’s not having any options - and apparently if you’re a Floridian, running like hell is one of our favorite options. We’re fond of hanging chads and concealed carry gun laws for Granny as well.

That’s why we fill up our cars before, during, and after, we do anything else. And then if our cars are full, we fill up our spare gas cans. And if the storm still isn’t here yet, we go fill up our boat’s gas tank. Then, if the storm still isn’t here, we fill up our lawn mower because, heck, someone, or something might be able to ride it the hell out of here. We can live without a lot of things here in Hurricane Country, but gas ain’t one ‘em.

We ran out of gas quickly and the stations were jammed. I understand the lines, especially during peak times, but stations running out of gas seems entirely avoidable. What’s the problem, we’re not paying enough these days for our gas? Perhaps the petroleum companies can’t afford to send extra trucks so we can buy more of their product? I really thought that with advances like new Florida laws requiring gas stations close to major highways to have backup generators were a sign that we were building more fail safe systems? The power never went out, and we still couldn’t get it right.

It wasn’t because we had a lack of gas. Governor Jeb Bush reminded us that we didn’t need to hoard gas, that we had a plenticious supply, and that we had just done such a good job of being prepared (hoarding) that we had run low in some places.

Maybe next time we can get the re-supply of gas right? Here’s a hint to the petroleum industry - if you get this right, you can rob us blind even more!

Three days out from a forecast Tropical Storm or Hurricane hitting a region start sending a lot of extra gas trucks! I know you’ve already thought of this but apparently Buford didn’t get the memo. Better yet, I’ve got an idea to make you even more money.

Portable gas stations.

After all, what’s a gas station but a big tank of gasoline with spigots attached to it. A tanker truck is just an above ground gas station on wheels with some gas pumps missing. But what about modern conveniences you ask? Sure, a cashier, twelve temporary pumps, all hooked up to wireless ATM’s would be nice. But we’ll pay cash in the first few days after the storm since we understand that our communications infrastructure will be amiss. WE KNOW an engineer could figure this out. Actually don’t we already do this in the military? Supply chain right? Oh, so someone already thought of this a long time ago. Well, this is America. It seems like there must be a market for this and if it’s not South Florida, I don’t know where else I can suggest that’s better.

In closing, I just want to remind our readers and myself that, like our Tax deadline, December 31st, or Memorial Day, Hurricanes can be prepared for. Planned for. Strategized over. Staffed for. Contingency planned. Worst-case scenario’d. We can and should expect our providers to meet the demands of our market. And we can and should expect to use common sense and be accountable for firing up our save-your-ass afterburners just a little earlier, and a little more completely, the next time.

What a difference a night can make. Mr. Wind and I went out for a wonderful dinner last night and we awoke this morning to Hurricane Ernesto’s 5-day path changing shape. It now resembles a boomerang and is threatening us here in Florida, possibly as a category 3 (Winds 111-130 mph) by Thursday.

According to the experts, the computer models now unanimously predict that a strong low pressure will pull Hurricane Ernesto across Florida, and then send it out to sea. As of now, exactly where Hurricane Ernesto will make landfall in Florida is hard to pinpoint this far in advance. Meteorologists are suggesting that everywhere from Miami to Pensacola is at risk.

According to the 11am Advisory:

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 75 MPH…120 KM/HR…WITH HIGHER GUSTS. ERNESTO IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST TODAY AND TONIGHT…AND ERNESTO COULD BECOME A CATEGORY 2 HURRICANE BEFORE IT REACHES THE COAST OF CUBA.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 15 MILES…30 KM…FROM THE CENTER…AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 90 MILES…150 KM.

Haiti and Cuba however are of immediate concern as they going to receive a hard blow from Hurricane Ernesto. It is entering into over 90 degree waters and will most likely slam into Cuba as a cat 2. According to Jeff Masters:

The eye of Ernesto will pass just south of or over the southwestern tip of Haiti today, pounding that impoverished nation with hurricane force winds and rains of up to 20 inches. I expect the death toll will be in the hundreds.

Haiti is an impoverished Caribbean nation that is 90% deforested. The deforestation is what makes Haiti vulnerability to deadly flooding and mudslides. The AP reports:

In Haiti, emergency officials went on local radio to warn people living in flimsy shantytowns on the southern coast to seek shelter in schools and churches. The hurricane center said life-threatening flash floods and mud slides were possible.

“These people could be in great danger,'’ said Adel Nazaire, a coordinator with Haiti’s civil protection agency.

“Flooding is the biggest concern because a lot of residents live along the rivers and the sea.'’

The latest projected path brings Hurricane Ernesto directly over Key West and the Lower Keys and very close to South Florida by Tuesday. Watches and warnings are likely to be posted on the Florida Keys today. Evacuation orders will most likely be announced by officials in the Keys soon.

Ultimate landfall looks to be around St. Petersburg and Tampa by early Thursday. But KEEP in mind - when a hurricane is still so many days out - the cone always moves and the path can change drastically. Each forecast has brought the projected track closer to South Florida and our area now sits squarely within the three-day cone.

Floridians still have time to remain alert and must get prepared. Now is the time to ensure that your hurricane plan and disaster supply kits are in place. Be sure to look through A Big Wind’s archives for information about plywood shutters; generators; garage door protection; hurricane plans; current outlook and more.

Almost exactly a year since Hurricane Katrina, Tropical Storm Ernesto, is entering the same warm waters and will soon be 2006’s first Gulf of Mexico Hurricane.

The track certainly places New Orleans in the cone and while the exact path is obviously unknown - the irony is palpable. According to hurricane center meteorologist Robbie Berg,

“We don’t see a lot of outside influences that would cause the system to turn sharply or speed up or slow down.”

As Ernesto threatens - there is also a convention going on in New Orleans this weekend for people who want to learn more and do more to assist New Orleans’ recovery from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The Rising Tide conference will serve to dispel myths, promote facts, share personal testimonies, highlight progress and regress, discuss recovery ideas, and promote sound policies at all levels.

The organizers aim to be a “real life” demonstration of internet activism as the nation prepares to observe the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The conference will specifically look to address what they describe as the manmade disaster of the levee and floodwall collapses, and the incompetence of government on all levels.

According to an article from Nola.com today:

The head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conceded Saturday that despite aggressive efforts to repair the levee system in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, it was unclear whether the system would hold up to a sizable hurricane this year.

Lt. General Carl Strock, the commander of the Corps, said the agency was carefully tracking Tropical Storm Ernesto, which was spinning in the Caribbean and projected to reach hurricane strength by Monday. It was on track to head into the Gulf of Mexico, though it was unclear whether Ernesto would strike the southern United States.

Strock was confident the Corps had done all it could to repair and reinforce 220 miles of levee walls, but he said many variables would determine whether the levees could withstand Ernesto if it reached Category 3 status and struck near New Orleans, as Katrina did Aug. 29, 2005.

The latest advisory has Ernesto at or near hurricane strength by the time it is over Jamaica on Sunday afternoon.

Tropical Storm Beryl, the second named storm of 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, formed off the North Carolina coast today and a tropical storm watch was issued for the eastern part of the state. Maximum sustained winds are at least 40 mph according to the National Hurricane Center said. The storm is centered about 180 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras and is moving toward the north at about 6 mph. While the situation can always change - experts are suggesting that the eye may never make landfall and they are not expecting Beryl to reach hurricane strength despite the warm water temperatures.We have made it a lucky seven weeks into this 2006 hurricane season with only two named storms. Compared to this time last year - this is a noticeably slower start to the season. By this time in 2005 - FIVE named storms, including an at one time cat 5 Hurricane Emily - the strongest storm to ever form in the Atlantic before August, had already formed.

It is just coming to light that FEMA was scammed by faux-Hurricane Katrina & Rita victims. It seems that when it comes to hurricanes, consumers aren’t the only ones vulnerable to scams.  Seems that last year’s hurricanes had looters of a different form.

According to stories found here, here or here – In an audit by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) up to 1.4 billion (yes that’s right - BILLION) relief dollars, or possibly up to 16% of the total aid, were used to fund ventures such as:

• A Caribbean holiday
• Season tickets to see the Saints
• Porn & Liquor
• Bogus rental assistance
• A divorce
• And my personal favorite – A sex change

FEMA is getting heat for this latest debacle for apparently “failing to respond” to the fraud allegations. In one case, FEMA gave rental assistance to an undercover agent that was using a bogus address even after FEMA learned that the undercover applicant did not live at the address given on the relief application. In another example, someone used 13 different Social Security numbers and received $139,000 in payments, all sent to a single address.

“We went out and gave people $2,000, and obviously a lot of those people did not live in Louisiana, did not live in the devastated areas, weren’t who they said they were,” FEMA Director, R. David Paulison told reporters in Washington.

While FEMA is trying to downplay the scandal insisting that they have found $16.8 million in bogus relief purchases, the GAO is highly confident that the numbers are between $600 million and $1.4 billion.

Did you donate to hurricane relief last year? I know that we did. What a waste of our money! In a quote by Stephen Gordon over at Hammer of Truth,

“The fault in this case is more than obvious. If you pass out a stack of debit cards to a large group of people, only a moron would expect all of them to spend all the money on items like Pampers, bottled water and staple food supplies.”

And

“Both sides seem to be missing the obvious question: Since when is it the responsibility of the Federal government to pass out debit cards to the victims of any natural (or government caused) disaster?”

There is now a new ID verification system in place and in the future, hurricane victims can only withdraw $500 for a strict list of items including food, shelter, clothes and transportation.

There are two scammers here:

• The people who purposefully took aid money that is still desperately needed -AND-
• FEMA for thinking that they can rely on the “honesty of good people”, for having no control over who received the money or how it was spent.

People in and around New Orleans remain afraid of levee breaks these days with the devastation caused by Katrina in 2005 never far from their minds. A new independent study released by two UC Berkeley Professors of civil and environmental engineering June 1st doesn’t give them any reason to feel more comfortable.

“The National Science Foundation-sponsored Independent Levee Investigative Team’s evaluation and scathing review of what happened to 350 miles of levees before, during and after Hurricane Katrina, admittedly the worst catastrophe in American history, uncovered the frightening truth about the man-made disaster that followed the storm and claimed nearly 2,000 lives.

The report is the result of an eight-month study by an independent team of 40 scientists and engineers led by Seed. The ILIT released the “Investigation of the Performance of the New Orleans Flood Protection Systems in Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005” on June 1.

“People didn’t die because the storm was bigger than the system could handle, and people didn’t die because the levees were overtopped,” Seed told reporters on June 1. “People died because mistakes were made and because safety was exchanged for efficiency and reduced cost.” Source: CC Campbell-Rock SFBayView.com Full article here.

Comforting isn’t it?

People in South Florida around Lake Okeechobee are concerned that they’re next. Even suburbs like the one we live in here in West Palm Beach aren’t out of harms reach if a catastrophic breach like the ones caused by Katrina hit ‘Lake O,’ never mind the towns that sit right next to the levee walls.

Back in January The South Florida Water Management District hired three experts to evaluate the state of the Lake Okeechobee levee and reported that the dike has a one in six chance of collapsing without constant monitoring and repair. Nice huh? Basically the dike is an earthen levee that was built out of Lake muck in the 1930’s in response to the 1928 Hurricane that pushed waters over a much flimsier levee and killed 2,500 people. Today, there are a lot more people immediately surrounding the levee and that doesn’t even count the heavily populated Western communities of West Palm Beach such as Wellington, Royal Palm Beach and The Acreage.

Cross your fingers folks.

Our recent story on plywood shutters illuminated the fact that there appears to be outdated (and certainly inconsistent information) about installing plywood shutters being indexed on highly prominent search engines on the Internet.

This month, you’ll see a lot more feature stories about plywood Hurricane Shutters on A Big Wind because we feel it’s one of the most useful things we can do to help people RIGHT NOW to protect their home or business. If you’re reading this web site then it means you are out on the Internet searching for Hurricane protection products and there’s a good chance that even if you order shutters or impact windows today, that they won’t be installed this season. That means that plywood may be the only option still available to protect your home or business in time for this season’s storms. According to FLASH.org (Federal Alliance for Safe Home), effective January 2005, Plywood has been tested to meet codes for a 130 mph wind.

Let’s put our recent story on plywood Hurricane shutters in context.

Four points:

1) Good or bad – due to their low relative cost plywood shutters are the most popular shutter solution around Hurricane Country for protecting your home and business.

2) People will use the Internet to find information about how to properly install plywood Hurricane Shutters.

3) People using the Internet will naturally trust known Hurricane experts like NOAA, the Red Cross, FEMA, and their local newspaper and T.V station to give them information on correct plywood Hurricane shutter installation.

4) The latest recommendations on plywood Hurricane shutter installation HAVE changed. People expect the Internet and Television to have the LATEST information vs. a book or other printed information that isn’t expected to have the same currency.

Point one: What Hurricane shutter solution will be the number one choice for the overwhelming majority of consumers and small businesses in Hurricane Country? Right - plywood. People either don’t have the money, resources or time to get more expensive steel shutters, impact windows or other solutions installed. Plus, the huge spike in demand for Hurricane protection products like shutters and impact windows have created long wait times this Hurricane season (typically 8-30 weeks). If you don’t already have your shutters or impact windows in place you’re going to be putting up plywood or you’ll be risking life and property unnecessarily.

Point two: 7 in 10 Internet searches will be performed using either Google or Yahoo! That’s why A Big Wind is very concerned that Google’s number one search result on a key word search for ‘Hurricane Shutters’ or more specifically ‘hurricane shutter installation’ turns up an outdated page that’s still running on NOAA’s servers as we detailed here in our past story. On Yahoo! the NOAA page is the number 5 result. Now keep in mind that when you go directly to NOAA’s web site they link to the more current shutter installation information that recommends that your plywood overlap the opening of your window or door, vs. the older inset method featured on the outdated page that still ‘lives’ on the web.

Point three: It’s not just the NOAA page. The Red Cross, another trusted source for Hurricane information has the newer overlap information but features a recommendation to drill holes in your plywood to deal with Hurricane pressures. Hmmmmm? Is this even a recommendation anymore? It is not mentioned in the very latest FEMA guidelines. And guess which prominent newspaper’s printed and online 2006 Hurricane Guide featured the old inset plywood installation method? The South Florida Sun-Sentinel whose latest guide goes on to say of plywood shutter installations

“If you decide to use this system, it is important to install the shutters correctly.” before mentioning the old inset installation method.

Yikes! Who has the correct facts here? I wonder if the Sun-Sentinel’s researchers ‘Googled’ their information and clicked on the number one search result link, naturally deferring to NOAA’s expert status in the Hurricane Field? And for all the criticism leveled at FEMA for their handling of Katrina we’re happy to report that FEMA has all the latest information on shutter installation on their web site and printed material. Further, FEMA is out publicizing this information at Hurricane expos and home shows like the Ft. Lauderdale Home Show that we recently attended. Our tax dollars at work I guess.

Point four: We’ve been through a lot of Hurricanes since Andrew. What’s changed in installer recommendations for plywood? Namely, you don’t see any recent references to drilling holes in your plywood and you don’t see contractors recommending the inset installation method. Though we’d still love to hear from an experienced engineer or contractor who can give us a good description on some of the differences between these methods. It’s great to know the latest info but it would be interesting to know WHY the installation procedures changed. Again, since plywood shutters are the MOST common method of protecting structures from Hurricane damage it’s something we should all know a lot more about.

As mentioned in our last story A Big Wind is contacting the organizations we’ve found publishing outdated information to ask them to validate their information or potentially update or take down old web site pages.

P.S. Want a great online tool that helps you quickly compare the cost and pros and cons of plywood vs. other Hurricane shutter or impact window solutions? Use the Shutter Tool that FLASH (Federal Alliance for Home Safety) has on their web site – we love it!

High winds and debris can break unprotected windows and then enter your house. Once inside, wind and debris can cause more damage. Protecting windows not only helps you avoid damage to your house, it also reduces the likelihood that you or members of your family will be hurt by broken glass and debris.

Since so many citizens are using the web as a resource for hurricane preparedness information, A Big Wind wanted to see what came up on Google and Yahoo if you did a search for “hurricane shutters” or “hurricane shutter installation.” On Google, the link that came to the very top of the organic search results (i.e. not the Sponsored Links) - was an OLD NOAA link from 2000 with questionable information about shutter installation. The same link came up as #5 on Yahoo.

From what we have read, FEMA recommends using permanent storm shutters if possible. If you are using plywood - their latest recommendation for plywood shutter installation says to OVERLAP the window and there is NO mention of needing holes for pressurization.

This NOAA link at the top of search results for “hurricane shutters” however loads a page entitled, A Short Lesson in Building Effective Shutters. The info on the page was originally presented at the Impact of Climatic Variations on the Caribbean region Hurricanes Meeting, July 20-21, 1999 in Miami, Florida. There is information that is still consistent with the latest thinking that plywood shutters are an inexpensive alternative to commercial shutters, but it should be noted that they do NOT meet the specification of the South Florida Building Code and they do require a good deal of physical labor to manufacture and install them. According to the page:

“You should use at least 5/8 inch exterior grade plywood, which is substantial enough to sustain an impact by windborne debris, but which is also heavy and hard to work with. You should also buy heavy duty 3 or 4 inch barrel bolts, at least four per panel, more for larger openings. The better the quality of materials you use the less likely they will fail in a hurricane.”

Now here is the questionable part:

“There ought to be at least 2 inches inset of the window from the exterior wall since the plywood will be mounted inside this recess. For windows and doors without enough inset you may have to fasten the plywood to the outside wall, which makes them vulnerable to being pulled off by high winds.

Each window and door to be covered should be carefully measured and a piece of plywood cut to fit snugly inside the opening.”

We also found a local red Red Cross site that still had OLD instructions to relieve pressure during the hurricane:

“Cut the plywood to the measurements for each opening. Drill holes 2 1 /2 inches from the outside edge of the plywood at each corner and at 12-inch intervals. Drill four holes in the center area of the plywood to relieve pressure during a hurricane.”

Lesson: Don’t believe everything that is out there on the web, even from resources such as NOAA. Standards have changed and we learn more from every disaster. Make sure you have the most up to date information possible to protect yourself and your family.

2006 FEMA TIPS for installing temporary plywood covers:

• - You should always consider using permanent storm shutters if you live in an area where you know you will need to act quickly to protect your windows.

- If you decide to use temporary plywood covers, you may want to hire a contractor or handyman to make them for you. If you do the work yourself, you will need to cut the plywood and drill holes for screws or lag bolts in each cover and in the wall around each window. The screws or lag bolts should be placed along the top, bottom, and sides of each cover, and they should be long enough to penetrate the wall studs around the window, not just the siding or wall covering.

- Don’t wait until a hurricane warning is issued to make the covers; you probably won’t have time. Make them now so that you’ll be ready to install them quickly. Store the mounting screws or lag bolts with the covers, in a place where they are readily accessible — don’t stack heavy boxes or other hard-to-move materials on top of or around the covers. Use a numbering or lettering system that shows which cover goes with which window.

Are there any contractors or engineers out there that can validate this information? A Big Wind is going to help contact the owners of these old pages that are still out on the web and being indexed by search engines and recommend that they ar removed or updated. Old information that is circulating on the web could have negative effects that were never intended.

UPDATE: There is a lively and very informative discussion here that was started a year ago regarding plywood and other types of shutters and shutter products on Mark Treadwell’s blog. Mark is a self described “knowledgeable homeowner who just also happens to be an Aerospace Engineer as well as experienced in other types of engineering.” You can find all of his hurricane posts here. Great tips Mark - thanks!

If you live in a condo or other property controlled by an association in Florida you may not know that you’re within your legal rights to put up Hurricane shutters even if your association says you can’t.

According to an article filed by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel today author Joe Kollin writes:

“The law says condo associations can specify colors or styles of shutters, but can’t ban them, even if the buildings have hurricane-resistant glass.”

Although this law specifically pertains to Florida it’s important to know your rights in states all over Hurricane Country. We’ve contacted the State Attorney General’s offices for Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and the Carolinas today asking to help identify any similar laws in their states. We’ll report the results of our research back here. Do you live somewhere else in Hurricane Country? Contact your State Attorney General and ask them what your legal rights are. Let us know what you find!

The article in the Sun-Sentinel goes on to mention a specific association that took the stand that since the condo already had impact resistant windows there was no need to install shutters. Hmmmm. Impact windows are a great way to protect your dwelling or small business against wind borne debris. What many people don’t know is that many Hurricane, or impact resistant windows are only tested to withstand a nine-pound two-by-four hurtled at the window at 34 miles per hour. Shutters as well. This is the testing overseen by Miami-Dade County and is referred to as the large missile test. Keep in mind that Miami-Dade presently has the strictest test protocols in the country for wind-borne debris, air and water tests. A category four Hurricane has winds of 130-155 mph on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale and certainly has the power to hurtle a nine pound piece of debris like a two-by-four at your window. Even a category three hurricane has the potential to break expensive impact resistant windows. Where am I going with this?

Two things. First, although an expensive option, some individuals want the added protection that a shutter/impact window combination gives them. Second, and perhaps more practically speaking for those of us on a budget, some people want window protection in the form of shutters so that their expensive impact windows don’t get shattered. Why? While your insurance may cover the cost to replace any impact glass that was damaged in a storm there’s a strong chance that your insurance deductible may well be in excess of the cost of having the windows replaced yourself. So, protecting your impact windows with shutters of some kind can actually become a cost saving strategy while also substantially increasing your protection against wind born debris.

In future stories we’ll write more about small and large missile testing and define some important terms that you should understand around these tests, especially as they relate to marketing and sales materials and tactics that are getting consumers into trouble all over Hurricane Country.