Hurricanes

[CiXeL]

i think one of the reasons coral gables still has trees is that alot of trees standing together is alot stronger than a number of them spread apart.

[doggiebus]

First off the city isn't built on sand, some soil, then you hit limestone not to far from the surface.

Second, the tree-lined streets in the Gables, which are mostly ficus or banyan trees. It doesn't matter how deep you plant these two plants. Ficus trees are not meant for residential yards, unless they are trimmed regularly. They grow to 70 feet with a massive pan of shallow roots, with wide canopies and come down easily in high winds. So with the combination of the wind and the canopy and shallow roots, when a hurricane comes, they just fall over easily. If you already have a ficus in the yard, have it professionally trimmed before hurricane season begins.

I went through Andrew, those older homes in Coral Gables will fare much better, if they have shutters, than anything built west of the Turnpike for sure. But when a strong 4 or 5 hits Miami, and if it actually hits Miami, it will look like a bomb went off. What went through here in 2005 was nothing compared to Andrew or Katrina or Wilma at their full strengths. Luckily, Andrew was a small storm and only half of the storm hit the southern dade county population (south of Kendall drive), the other half was over the glades. If it hit were it was forecasted to hit, Miami would of looked like a war zone. Sorry, back to the Gables, I would rather ride out a storm in those older Gables homes than anything west of the Turnpike any time.

Cixel you are right, the tree canopy in the gables will help for sure.

[CiXeL]

"Cixel you are right, the tree canopy in the gables will help for sure."

scientists noticed this tendency when studying rainforests. islands of rainforest with farms and clearcutting inbetween are much more susceptible to wind damage than contiguous forest.

[Tjam]

If the disruption of normal life does'nt last long I'll be ok there. I'll be coming there for the warm weather, it's closer to what I was raised in. Thanks guys.