Does the Saffir-Simpson scale hold up to the intense hurricanes we see today?
Saffir came up with a scale of structural damage due to destructive hurricane winds for his work at the UN, which Simpson found as he was pondering better communication options in the aftermath of Camille. Simpson
to the scale adjusted the limits to account for confusion when translating between miles per hour and kilometers per hour.74-95 mph—Damage to roofs, siding, gutters, large branches and some trees with shallow roots. Power outages could last days.96-110 mph—Major roof damage, and downed trees will likely block roads. Power loss from days to weeks.111-129 mph—Even more severe roof damage and blocked roads. Electricity and water expected to be out for days or weeks.
While the index has been making the rounds in research and industry circles for a few years, it’s still under development, and hasn’t been incorporated into“The Saffir-Simpson is a superb communication tool. A lot of people make their evacuation decisions based on what Category the hurricane is going to be, and there’s a lot of inertia we need to take into account if we’re considering changing such a scale,” Done says.
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