The FIU “WOW” Factor!

The Extreme Events Institute’s (EEI) International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC) at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida, as a NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador, is dedicated to make South Florida and beyond, Ready, Responsive and Resilient. This is accomplished through many media tours, interviews and demonstrations. EEI-IHRC developed, planned and facilitated a wind mitigation demonstration at the Wall of Wind (WOW). The demonstration promoted a hurricane wind mitigation message and was performed specifically for a new IMAX film featuring hurricanes. A structure was constructed with one half fortified and the other half not fortified, and then hit with hurricane force winds. The demonstration showed the effectiveness of hurricane resistant roof construction and protecting windows with code-approved metal shutters. This was an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of hurricane wind mitigation, enhanced building codes, and promoting community resilience. The Wall of Wind is the largest and most powerful university research facility of its kind and is capable of simulating a Category 5 hurricane. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has designated the Wall of Wind as one of the nation’s major “Experimental Facilities” under the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) program. The EEI-IHRC also partners with the National Hurricane Survival Initiative (NHSI) and their annual hurricane preparedness campaign, which includes a 30-minute TV program airing across Florida or in hurricane media markets from Texas to Maine. The EEI-IHRC contributes hurricane mitigation and preparedness information for protecting your family, home and business. The EEI-IHRC also collaborated on a one-hour independent documentary, “Built to Last?" Saving our Homes in the Age of Disasters.” The documentary focuses on how architectural innovations can mitigate the harm caused by natural hazards and illustrates what ordinary people around the world can do to make their homes safe and hazard-resilient.