Page 92 - Building Codes News Today

>> yeah, i want to go to miami where peter, a business owner. im wondering, a, how are things for you and what youve been see ing your area in miami. >> well, anderson, i can tell you rights now in the streets -- and im in downtown miami a good thousand feet or 2,000 feet from biscayne bay. on the actual street level its probably about 2 feet deep or so. its well past the grill of a traditional automobile. and in terms of the winds, youre getting bursts. and a lot of there trees are bending and ...

[ inaudible ]. it was devastated in hurricane andrew. it was rebuilt to much better building codes. i can tell you all across this region, homes here are -- the big concern is of course these wind bands continue to blow across here from north to south in many areas. thats a major concern. first responders will not go out anymore today. they dont want to put their first responders lives at risk. the rain has also been an issue. its hammering sideways since about 8:00 p.m. late last night. its bee...

Looks like they used that to hold it down, weight it against the wind. but what really strikes me, chris, when you look at the pictures here in the upper keys compared to the devastation down in cuba and in some of the other caribbean islands where they dont have building codes, its a stark difference. lets take a left here and see whats happening closer to the atlantic. im cutting across -- heres a shot -- thats the northbound lane of us-1. you can see why people are driving the wrong way on th...

Where many residents did evacuate. it is a mandatory evacuation area, but a lot of people we have seen that decided to ride out the storm here. it will get a little ugly as i come under this shelter here, but i want to show you what were most afraid here. this is the gulf of mexico. the tide going out, it will start to come back in, and if that timing matches up with the storm passing here and getting those onshore winds, this could be disastrous here for the storm surge. hurricane donna came th...

Whats the situation? >> reporter: i can hear you, chris. its really cranking up here as irma huffs and puffs and tries to blow us all down. ive become increasingly thankful for building codes in south florida, many of them stiffened after hurricane andrew. we are hunkered down in a concrete -- whoa, condominium complex. i just saw a huge branch come snapping off this tree right around the corner. we dont want to move our camera out to the spot to show you but take my word for it, irma is trimmin...

To my left walk a little bit here. this is a large construction site, looks like a condominium being built here. that one is also bracketed down about halfway up. and as weve been talking about all day here and in miami, the tops -- these top booms of these cranes are going to be allowed to swing. and its going to look pretty ominous when theyre allowed to swing, but they are designed to do that. we had a lady just come and tell us who lives in that apartment building there shes concerned that t...

Protected, they are concrete condominiums and sandbags in front of them. youve got the storm shutters up. it looks like metal storm shutters for most of the houses here. there are a lot of people that are staying here. theyre staying put and theyve got families coming to this particular subdivision to stay here because the homes they feel are safe enough to withstand this storm. this is a subdivision that was built about 12 years ago, hurricane andrew hit 25 years ago, so after hurricane andrew ...

Open until an hour. and they closed the storm shutters and will hunker down. and see the bands and wind come through x. by this time tomorrow night. well be in the midst of the tropical storm force winds and law enforcement authorities are not going out once the winds are 45 miles per hour sustained and we are talking about 130 or 40 miles per hour and that gives you the perspective. when they will go out. >> tucker: building codes have changed and we are about to find taught if they changed eno...

At this point, we are not planning on going to a shelter or anything. we are hunkering down here at home and we will see how it goes. >> jon: and how do you feel about the strength of your house? >> the house feels good. i was at my moms and brothers today, and that is all boarded up and they have a backup plan in a safe spot should anything happen. we are all feeling relatively good about it as good as you can, anyway. >> jon: is a relatively new construction? do you feel the building codes too...

>> there are building codes that are in place, particularly after hurricane andrew that helped homeowners rebuild stronger. >> reporter: the reality is, older homes and buildings are unlikely to withstand the force of irma. >> a picture worse 1,000 words from tom costello. the wind damage potentially to hit florida. those are pictures, theyre preparing for hurricane irma in florida. the gulf coast is going to recover from obviously a lot of damage to not only infrastructure but also to homes the...