Buildings should be able to withstand strong hurricanes

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Improperly built structures, be it houses, shops, schools or roads, will always suffer damage in some degree or the other from tropical storms, whether they are category one or category five.

In today’s environmentally harsh world, permanent structures must be designed and built meticulously if they are to survive the often-brutal weather conditions.

Hurricane Beryl, which was far less impactful and intrusive than Gilbert but nonetheless just as strong, came, saw, and she let her mighty presence be felt. This was particularly so in St Elizabeth, Mandeville and, most of all, in Clarendon. Hurricane Beryl should also be seen as a warning where, as alluded to earlier, the integrity of man-made structures and electrical poles is concerned. All wooden light poles should be replaced with concrete ones as soon as possible, and a law should be passed mandating the distance legally allowed between tall trees and electrical poles.

Continuous hurricane-force winds will always batter built structures and other infrastructure across the island. However, the integrity of those structures will determine if they withstand the battering and remain standing. If they are not properly built, then there is the chance these structures may suffer severe damage or even fall. The buildings today must be built to withstand a category five hurricane, or they should not be built at all.

PATRICK GALLIMORE

pagalley@protonmail.com