Owing to the increase in the number and intensity of hurricanes in the Caribbean region, there is an urgent need for people to be prepared at all times. Additionally, there are problems with hurricane intensity forecasts. Even if people are familiar with the forecasts, they must understand how to respond to the dangers brought by an approaching hurricane. In certain cases, evacuation is the only way out. This is the answer, particularly in cases where the housing is of poor quality and is likely to be destroyed during the windstorm. Even well built structures require additional protection that hurricane shutters afford. Plywood hurricane shutter is a good choice.



Well-built plywood hurricane shutter provides good protection. Well-designed plywood hurricane shutters can reduce the extent of damage and help protect structures. The market has a number of commercial shutters and there are many plywood hurricane shutter models. It must be borne in mind that the plywood hurricane shutter has to be installed well in advance and there is no point in planning to install shutters after the hurricane announcement is made.





The best shutters are those that are inexpensive and easy to install and provide greater protection. The type of shutter that is useful depends on personal circumstances. For households with limited income, shutter made of plywood is the best option. They offer good protection. Steel panels are good and expensive. Most of the people use plywood hurricane shutter. They let it overlap the window opening and fix it using concrete nails. But this method can be harmful in even moderate winds because most of this poorly fixed plywood hurricane shutter can fly-off and become hazardous missiles. The popular method is to cut the plywood to overlap the window opening and then fix with tapping screws through the wood fitted into the sleeve anchors in the wall. But, it has been noticed that many boards attached employing this technique have been disastrous in the case of intense hurricanes. If the windows have a minimum of 2-inch inset, there is a much more effective technique to use plywood hurricane shutter. Hurricane shutter made with this technique performed extremely well even in the maximum winds of Hurricane Andrew (1992).





Most of the people build this type of hurricane shutter making an effort and spending money. The fundamental idea is that the wood of the plywood hurricane shutter is cut to fit inside the inset of the window and is fixed firmly to the ledge using barrel bolts. It is effective for two major reasons. Firstly, because the wood is dug in, the hurricane winds can’t get under the wood. Next, as the wood is fixed perpendicular to the force of the wind, it is all the more difficult for the wind to pull the fasteners out from the structure. Here the main technique is that the wood fits inside the inset. /p>