Hurricane

1 12, 2017

REIDsteel rebuilds hurricane-hit Caribbean

2017-12-01T10:01:36+00:00December 1st, 2017|Categories: News|Tags: , , , , , , |

We’re aiming to play a major role in the reconstruction of hurricane hit communities in the Caribbean with our disaster-resistant buildings.

We have designed, manufactured and supplied hundreds of buildings in the Caribbean and Central America over the past century, including churches, granaries, schools, industrial units, aircraft hangars and bridges.

Our Sales Manager Mike Chappell has recently returned from a fact-finding trip to the British Virgin Islands and Antigua where he saw the devastation first hand. Mike met business and community leaders as well as government ministers.

His visit came after virtually all of REIDsteel’s structures – including warehouses, supermarkets and banks – survived hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which hit at speeds of more than 200 mph. Only one of our many buildings had suffered minor structural damage as a consequence of the hurricanes.

We’ve has been called in because of our expertise and strong relationships built with communities and businesses over many years.

One of the first projects will be to rebuild a school funded by a wealthy local benefactor in Tortola, which is the largest […]

16 12, 2013

The Importance of Resilient Structures

2017-01-06T14:31:49+00:00December 16th, 2013|Categories: Resilient Structures|Tags: , , , , , |

cycloneThe only difference between a hurricane, a cyclone, and a typhoon is the location where the storm occurs.

They all happen in the same way:

Warm water heats the air and it starts to rise, and begins to spiral. The warm air will be very moist and will start to condense. As the warm air spiral goes up into colder air, it becomes even warmer and lighter, so it rises and spirals faster, sucking in more warm moist air from the surrounding sea. This enormous heat-engine, powered by the heat in the sea, is a storm formation.

When a building stands in the path of the wind, the windward wall tends to block the air, and the air pressure increases. This force can cave in walls, smash doors or columns or bracing systems, or push buildings completely over. As it passes over, the wind can come from every direction.

If there is an opening in the windward side, the high pressure can find its way into a building. The whole building can be blown outwards, like a balloon. What makes the situation worse is that the wind is not a steady […]

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