Solutions for hurricane-proof buildings in Florida, USA

It is recently predicted that on average, damage costs caused by hurricanes that will occur on the east and Gulf coast of the US, will rise from $3 billion to $7.3 billion higher yearly by 2030. Interventions on the structures of existing buildings are highly recommended, as natural events are getting more and more intense. It is also expected that building regulations for new structures would be redefined in order to avoid damages and further expenses – hurricane-proof buildings must be strong, resilient, and cost-effective.
 
The image above illustrates how our Geotub helped a family house in Florida to resist the flooding and strong winds. Our products provide several solutions for structural improvements that can prevent detriments on the built volume, especially in areas endangered by storms and hurricanes:
 

• Foundations made of concrete should be built above the sea level or expected flooding level, and our formwork for circular columns – Geotub (suitable to be used in water environment too) is recommended to prepare and execute fast and safe columns’ molding,
• Foundation slabs are preferably above the ground, with crawl space that ventilates the structure from humidity emerging from the ground. These slabs are easily built with Modulo, Multimodulo, and New Elevetor,
• Concrete shear walls able to resist horizontal forces (lateral loads) caused by strong winds and earthquakes built with Geopanel and Geopanel Star, provide adequate sturdiness of the structure.

With green and water solutions applied in (mostly coastal) areas hit by severe natural events, damage costs are likely to decrease, but combatting and preventing the climate crisis stays the main global goal.