If your house is at the edge of a large open field or the edge of a golf course or within 1500 feet of open water, you are more exposed to the full force of the wind and more susceptible to damage caused by wind forces acting directly on your home.

Similarly, if your house sticks up above the trees and is taller than most of the structures near you, your house will typically be more susceptible to damage caused by wind forces acting directly on your home. However, your vulnerability to damage can also be increased by your neighbor's homes and particularly by the type of roofs on buildings near your home.

Neighboring buildings with flat roofs that have stones or gravel on them are a major source of wind-borne debris when the wind speeds climb beyond hurricane force and the stones or gravel can easily break unprotected windows.

If your neighborhood has tile roofs, you will also be at greater risk of damage from wind-borne debris if wind gusts get up around 120 mph or higher. Also remember that mobile homes, outbuildings, barns, fences, screen enclosures, carports, storage sheds and their contents, awnings and canopies can fail and produce wind-borne debris that can break windows and sometimes tear openings into your house; letting in damaging rain and wind. In addition, objects such as garbage cans, bicycles, lawn furniture, and tree limbs start to be blown around as wind speeds climb towards hurricane force.

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If the wind speeds climb towards category 3 or higher, landscaping pebbles and small rocks on the ground can become wind-borne, damaging roofs, walls and windows. By properly protecting and maintaining your home and by controlling loose objects, you can minimize potential damage to your neighbors' and your property.

Wind can knock out or burst open windows and doors, rip off roof sheathing (decking) and destroy gable end walls. Over-hanging eaves and gable end rakes, extended awnings, open porches, and other features that tend to trap air beneath them are particularly susceptible to being damaged or torn off the building during a hurricane. Wind-borne debris from neighboring buildings, including shingles and tiles, can break windows and damage roof coverings and walls.

With or without the help of wind-blown objects, the wind can push in a garage door, window, or door on the windward side of the house and move inside, increasing uplift forces on the roof (in some cases doubling them). In fact, these powerful forces can literally lift the roof right off of the house. When wind forces break open part of your home, wind and water enter your home and damage to the interior escalates dramatically.

Because older less wind resistant homes tended to break open regularly in high winds, a lot of the focus over the past couple of decades has been on strengthening the structure and load resisting connections in homes. However, water intrusion is beginning to be recognized as an equally important threat to you ability to quickly bounce back to a normal life after a storm. Unfortunately, there are lots of places where water can enter your home and damage the interior as well as your belongings. Fortunately, by reducing the risks in your surroundings you can increase your property's ability to withstand wind events.

• Limit yard objects or remove them when severe weather threatens.
• Replace gravel and rock landscaping with shredded materials.
• Trim trees and shrubbery.
• Cut weak branches on plants and trees.