why houses is made from wood in placed that has hurricanes?

Question

I wonder why houses is made from wood in placed that has hurricanes?

Shouldn't it be made from some stronger materials so it can stand the hurricane?

Answer 1

having been a boatbuilder and house builder in St Thomas for 30 years:

it's the quality and strength and engineering and design that helps a house get thru a storm, more than the material used......I built and rebuilt houses in wood after Hugo in 1989 and they all stood up to Marilyn a Cat 3 in 1995......many concrete block houses were damaged or destroyed when the roof pulled off the walls and went away because they weren't fastened down well enough

if you use lots of big nails, through bolts, bracing, small roof overhangs so the wind cant get under the edge...and have Storm shutters on the windows and doors so the wind cant rip building apart from the inside!!!........a wood frame house has as good a chance as a concrete block place

also, a lot of damage you see is houses that either haven't been maintained, so they are weakened, or weren't designed for hurricane winds in the first place, or didn't have shutters over the windows and doors.....

a very good friend of 30 years, an experienced builder and boatbuilder as well, is finishing up his own house......and it's wood......but built like a brick you-know-what.....

and simonlegree is right....there are no hurricane or tornado or earthquake "proof"....as in wont be damaged....homes or structures..short of something that is designed to take tactical nuclear weapons strikes!

Answer 2

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Answer 3

maybe even strong materials wont stand the strong hurricanes that visit the place. so instead of investing for expensive houses, they make use of cheaper materials. it's easy to let go of cheap things rather than expensive things right.
one thing more, building concrete structure would take time. hardening and curing of concrete wont be short enough, what if another hurricane comes before the concrete is hardened. whereas for wood, nails would do

Answer 4

You have a good point there. I don’t know lets ask the people who lives in hurricane-prone areas. They should build bunker type of houses. My best guess is, wood is cheaper than cement materials. So that’s why they build their houses with wood.

Answer 5

Hurricane Proof houses are a myth. The storms can destroy any kind of building.

Answer 6

I suppose some places are too poor to afford stronger materials.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

Too expensive to make it out of anything else.

Answer 9

wood is cheaper than brick or steele. its also more readily avalible.

Answer 10

ask the people in the trailer court.