Shingles and tar paper fly off the roof of a vacant home in Central Florida as a custom-built wind machine pounds it with hurricane-force winds on June 7, 2006. Part of a University of Florida-led hurricane research project, the experiment was one of several aimed at learning more about how hurricanes damage homes built before Florida adopted its first statewide building code in 1994. Engineers also planned to test hurricane retrofits, such as reinforcements for garage doors, to determine the most cost-effective ways that owners of older homes can fortify them against hurricanes.

(Kristen Bartlett/University of Florida)
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