[Lingster]

Everybody say a little prayer for the people Jamaica – Hurricane Dean is seriously big and heading straight for little Jamaica. 

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT04/AL0407W5.gif

[JimmyDimples]

Done and done.

I remember getting hit by tornadoes back home in 1984, so I can relate.  And I hope we'll keep on standby to help them with relief and rebuilding charity.

[Bo Inaka]

For several years, I have wondered what hurricanes are like from the perspective of people living in the Caribbean. How do you plan for a life when every few years your home may see serious damage?  OK, insurance is a possibility if you can afford it.  Can most people afford it? I have my doubts. Does the government take the risk? How can it when the whole country can be affected at once? Do people just live in squalor until they can rebuild on their own?  Do people intentionally build things that collapse easily but can quickly be set back up?  Anyone  have any experience with this stuff?  I have lived through several hurricanes but have never been seriously affected by them.  I am guessing this thread will take a very Katrina-ish turn soon and I don't want to belittle anyone's experience, but am instead trying to imagine what it's like when you don't live in one of the richest nations in the world.

[David C. Matthews]

Those are some of the same questions that run through my head as well, boinaka.  The Orlando area took a direct hit from Charley, and glancing blows from Frances and Jeanne in 2004; after not having had a hurricane in the 30+ years previous.  And that was enough to make me never want to be anywhere near a hurricane ever again.  I can't imagine what it would be like to have to live in an area where practically every hurricane that forms will blast your life back to square one (lose your house, lose your belongings, maybe lose a loved one, etc.)

[JimmyDimples]

I guess if it's a constant risk, you learn not to get too attached to material goods or systems.  Living off the land helps.  And learn to rely on and help those around you.

I thankfully have never suffered major loss from any hurricanes, but recall when tornadoes tore through my home state back in 1984.  One had ripped up a lot of trees from my family's yard, knocked out power, blasted out windows to buildings, including our bank, and pretty much put life as usual to a halt for a few days. 

But thankfully, my small town quickly rallied and we took care of each other.  A local barbecue restaurant handed out free meals to the residents, we got together and cleared driveways, sawed up uprooted trees that blocked our driveways and streets, collected the resulting firewood to donate to poorer families next winter, and in general acted as neighborly as possible.  I even recall after we'd gotten power again, Ma baked a cake and we gave it to the National Guardsman stationed just outside our neighborhood's entryway. 

I guess whether the storm simply musses the leaves you raked or strips away everything except the clothes on your back, it all boils down to Love And Help Your Neighbor As You Would Yourself. 

And remember… cars are wrecked but can be repaired.  Houses collapse but can be rebuilt.  Money can be remade, and trees will eventually grow back.  Those around you, though… THOSE are the treasures you can't replace.

[Lingster]

Sometimes little things can make the difference: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/flat/bown/2006/product_75.html

[FlakBait]

Those are some of the same questions that run through my head as well, boinaka.  The Orlando area took a direct hit from Charley, and glancing blows from Frances and Jeanne in 2004; after not having had a hurricane in the 30+ years previous.  And that was enough to make me never want to be anywhere near a hurricane ever again.  I can't imagine what it would be like to have to live in an area where practically every hurricane that forms will blast your life back to square one (lose your house, lose your belongings, maybe lose a loved one, etc.)

Hell the way things are right now in New Orleans a heavy rain could wipe us out  😛

If Dean even swings north a little bit and we just get the outer bands I'm sure it would cause major problems throughout the area.

[Bo Inaka]

Sometimes little things can make the difference: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/flat/bown/2006/product_75.html

That's it.  If nails are the weak link, I hereby ban them from construction in these United States.  All houses will be remade of lincoln logs or glued together. No more of this houses-flying-apart-due-to-high-winds shennanigans.

Bo.

[Bo Inaka]

More seriously, I wonder if these new nails will work in current nail guns and so on.  If not, their acceptance may be slower than you'd like.  Ingenuity can solve a lot of problems, but maybe the problem is the presumption that the way to go is to resist the wind.  I wasn't kidding about making houses that fall apart easily.  Japan traditionally has built houses that are cheap to repair and can easily slide around on their foundations (for earthquakes).  Like the US's east coast, Japan gets its share of typhoons.  Paper and wood are easy to fix.  Maybe some kind of modular construction can be invented so that the house breaks up into easy pieces under extreme stress.  The playskool school of architecture, perhaps.

[Lingster]

More seriously, I wonder if these new nails will work in current nail guns and so on.  If not, their acceptance may be slower than you'd like.  Ingenuity can solve a lot of problems, but maybe the problem is the presumption that the way to go is to resist the wind.  I wasn't kidding about making houses that fall apart easily.  Japan traditionally has built houses that are cheap to repair and can easily slide around on their foundations (for earthquakes).  Like the US's east coast, Japan gets its share of typhoons.  Paper and wood are easy to fix.  Maybe some kind of modular construction can be invented so that the house breaks up into easy pieces under extreme stress.  The playskool school of architecture, perhaps.

I think they were built to work in most nailguns.  That was one of the design limitations.

Anyway, it looks like Jamaica was spared the worst – the eye passed somewhat south of Jamaica's shore.  There will still be tremendous damage, but not the wholesale apocalyptic devastation that would have occurred if Dean had hit the island straight on.  Next it looks like it's the Yucatan's turn, because the Caymans are north of the apparent path.

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