It appears to me that most of the damage other than that to the trees was caused by the wind directly. Trees falling do not lift roofs and spread them about the neighborhood. And the marinas were totally junked with no trees about.
Trees falling do not lift roofs and spread them about the neighborhood. And the marinas were totally junked with no trees about.
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Here’s what I’ve seen first hand. Trees will rub against a roof. They’ll knock off shingles and then the sheathing. Once there’s a hole and the wind gets in, the whole roof will come off. A broken branch hitting a roof can do the same thing. Debris from one destroyed roof can then be blown into other roofs. Sometimes these branches or roof debris will knock out a window or punch a hole in the wall if it isn’t masonry. The wind can get inside the house and then tear out walls or even blow the roof off. The debris from one house hitting another is like a domino effect. The first damage I’ve seen, though, is always the trees rubbing against the roofs.
Another bad problem I’ve seen is wind getting underneath porches. Once they lift up they peel the whole roof off. Most of the problems I’ve seen can be prevented. Keep trees away from homes and stay with something like Sabal palms, or plant smaller trees that don’t reach the roof.
As far as the marinas go, those things are built like old mobile homes over three stories high. Of course they suffered major damage. Some of the hangars at the AFB were built the same way.