Posts Tagged ‘Mississippi’
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, about 2 miles east of Biloxi. The town was founded in 1699 by the French, and it’s one of the oldest cities in the United States. It’s well known as an artist community, with several art galleries and shops. It has a lovely historic downtown area, and a number of ethnic restaurants.
Because of its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, the area is particularly plagued by hurricanes. In 1969, Hurricane Camille battered the area, damaging the bridge that connected Biloxi and Ocean Springs, and when Hurricane Katrina’s 28-foot storm surge came in, it completely destroyed the Biloxi Bay Bridge. The strong winds and heavy storm surge of Hurricane Katrina affected the entire Mississippi coastal area, and Ocean Springs was no exception. The commercial and historic districts were hit particularly hard, and some are slow to come back. The city is trying to rebuild and improve the city, however; they have even opened a Rebuild Ocean Springs Fund web site.
One lesson that they have learned in Ocean Springs is that hurricane shutters are entirely necessary to protect your home or business when a storm is rolling in. The combination of the pressure changes, high winds and wind-borne debris, and storm surge is a killing alliance, and without protection on your home, you are much more likely to sustain serious damage. Rebuilding homes and businesses require storm shutters right from the start, and it is foolish not to add them.
Some homeowners have traditionally used plywood instead of hurricane shutters, yet plywood does not meet most building codes. This means they are not as safe as permanent storm shutter systems. Another reason not to use them is that you must put them up before the storm, and it generally takes one to one and a half hours per window. You have to drill holes in your stucco, as well, and you must drill new holes each time that you put them up, as using existing holes is not safe.
Permanent storm shutters are a much safer system, and they are much more convenient than putting up and taking down plywood. There are several different kinds of hurricane shutters, and they can be matched to your home’s style and architecture.
Roll-down shutters – convenient, one button rolling shutters that protect your windows
Bahama shutters – Island style, charming shutters attached above windows and provide shade when open, hurricane protection when shut down
Colonial shutters – two-piece louvered shutters that attach to the wall beside each window and fold together to protect your home
Accordion shutters – one or two piece hurricane shutters housed beside windows or doors when not in use that unfold accordion-style to cover and protect during storms
No matter what kind of hurricane shutter that you choose, it is important to protect your home with storm shutters instead of plywood. Not only are they more convenient, they are much safer. They come with impact ratings and wind resistance ratings, and they do a much better job than plywood ever could.
Tags: Accordion shutters, Bahama shutters, Hurricane Shutters, Mississippi, rolldown shutters, Rolling Shutters, Storm Shutters
Posted in Hurricane Season, Hurricane Shutters | View Comments
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi, and is about an hour’s drive from New Orleans. It’s a city perched right on the Gulf of Mexico, and it’s vulnerable to hurricanes. In 2005, Gulfport was hit by the strongest side of Hurricane Katrina, and much of Gulfport was flooded or destroyed. And that’s not the only hurricane that’s ever hit Gulfport: Much of Gulfport was also severely damaged by Hurricane Camille in 1969.
When Katrina hit the shore with its strong east side, a great deal of Gulfport was flooded, and what the flood didn’t get was destroyed in one day by the powerful hurricane-force winds. The storm lasted more than 16 hours and the storm surge was more than twenty eight feet in some sections of the city. The Sun Herald newspaper in Biloxi-Gulfport won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in journalism for its coverage of the devastation that Katrina caused in the area.
Gulfport is being rebuilt, but it is still a slow process, and the city has not come back completely, even five years later. If you have a home in Gulfport, you should have hurricane shutters on it; without them, you don’t stand a chance against the high winds of a hurricane. There are many types of shutters available: Colonial shutters, roll-down shutters, and Accordion shutters, just to name a few. But Bahama shutters are a very popular style in Gulfport: They are aesthetically pleasing, meet the codes for missile impact resistance, and meets the Florida, Miami-Dade code for hurricane shutters.
Bahama shutters are great for any window, but are especially good for second floors and higher places because it can easily be latched from the inside your home. There’s no need to drag out a ladder and climb whenever you need to close the shutters, and the locking mechanism makes the shutter very strong when it’s closed.
Another reason to choose Bahama shutters is for the ease of exiting the building in case you need to leave in a hurry. The inside latching system makes exiting the house easy. If you use plywood to cover your windows and doors, you’d have to waste precious time taking it down before you could leave, and that is dangerous during a storm. You may have only minutes to get out, and don’t have time to waste. Hurricane shutters that latch on the inside make it much easier to enter and exit fast when it’s necessary.
Bahama shutters come in a variety of colors, and they are sure to have a color that will match your home. The arms and fasteners are made to match the color of the shutters, so there is no jarring differences. It blends together beautifully, and they keep your home ultra safe.
Tags: Bahama shutters, Hurricane Shutters, Mississippi, Storm Shutters
Posted in Bahama shutters, Hurricane Season, Hurricane Shutters | View Comments
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
On August 29, 2005 at ten o’clock in the morning, Hurricane Katrina made its final landfall near Bay St. Louis, at the mouth of the Pearl River. At twelve feet above sea level, the town is the highest point on the entire Gulf of Mexico coastline, but when Katrina hit land with a 28-foot storm surge, Bay St Louis was devastated. Only the western edge of the city didn’t see the huge surge from Katrina, and were somewhat spared from the flood waters. The gorgeous row of historic houses along the pristine beach, however, were destroyed; after the flood waters receded, only pieces were left of the fine architecture.
Before Katrina, Bay St Louis had pristine beaches, a healthy tourist economy, and lots of restaurants and shops. Afterward, the entire city nearly wiped out, the tourist industry was dead, and there were hardly any restaurants to go to. The Bay St. Louis Bridge was also damaged, with many bridge sections missing or fallen. The destroyed bridge was replaced, and the new bridge was awarded America’s Transportation Award. The new bridge features a pedestrian bridge alongside, with an art walk featuring the works of local artists. And currently the damaged underground utility structure in Bay St. Louis is receiving a total modernization and replacement.
When Bay St Louis began the long, hard work of replacing and re-building new homes, storm shutters were almost always added for hurricane protection. When you want to defend your home against a storm, more than anything, shutters are essential; whether you choose Colonial shutters, accordion shutters, roll-down shutters, or Bahama shutters, they keep the storm out of your house. The shutters are made from metals like aluminum, as well as from wood materials. When shutters are installed, the glass is covered so that it will not break or shatter during the storm, either from the wind, wind-borne debris, or pressure changes of the storm.
Hurricane shutters are well-known as a home protection, but if you own a business and install roll-down shutters, they can actually serve the purpose of security, as well. Roll-down shutters not only defend your home or business from a tropical storm, they can also keep unwanted intruders out as well. Just roll your shutters down at night, and your home or business is secure and protected. The glass can’t be broken, and intruders can’t enter.
Hurricane shutters are essential for your home or business if you live somewhere like Bay St. Louis. Storms hit the shore on a regular basis, and no matter what kind you choose, make sure that you protect your home today.
Tags: Hurricane Shutters, Mississippi, rolldown shutters, Rolling Shutters, Security Shutters, Storm Shutters
Posted in Hurricane Season, Hurricane Shutters, Rolling Shutters, Security Shutters, Storm Shutters | View Comments
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