Roofs were torn off, trees uprooted and steel poles were flattened, but Cyclone Christine couldn’t put a dent in the high performance rotary ventilators (the Airocle 5 Series) atop the JD Hardie Youth Centre in Port Hedland Western Australia on New Year’s Eve, 2013.
The Category 3 cyclone blasted communities between Karratha and Port Hedland with wind gusts of up to 200 kilometres per hour, however it didn’t put the breeze up those taking refuge inside.
The multi-use community building was actually designed as the town’s cyclone evacuation centre – hence the reason why it was fitted with the Airocle’s industrial strength rotary ventilators when it was originally built in 2011.
Port Hedland is located in Western Australia’s “severe tropical cyclone” region.
It’s a good job that Airocle’s natural roof ventilators adhere to the Building Code of Australia; they are designed and built to weather the toughest storms.
Andrew Boadle of ARB Carpentry who witnessed the destruction and was called in to carry out some of the repair work, is in no doubt that this natural ventilation system saved the day.
“The fact that these big industrial strength whirlybirds took the brunt of Cyclone Christine and are still spinning smoothly says a lot about how strong they are,” he said.
“They obviously relieve and deflect a lot of the pressure on a building’s roof. I reckon they’re a must for any new building being built anywhere in a cyclone prone area.”
Whether you are a builder, architect, designer, building certifier, or engineer, we’d be delighted to discuss the requirements for cyclone regions with you.
We can help you design a natural roof ventilation system that will perform even in the harshest cyclone regions.
If you would like some advice on natural roof ventilation systems, contact us today — we’d love to have a chat with you!