Cyclone Resistant Industrial Buildings Through Planning Design and Construction

The super cyclone which struck coastal Orissa in India once again exposed how vulnerable and fragile industrial buildings were. The failure of industrial sheds to withstand the fury of cyclones is a problem which persists in spite of more than 50 years of international research in this field. While we can expect non-engineered structures to fail during a disastrous cyclone, what causes concern is that even engineered structures designed as per existing codes of practice seem equally prone to damage. This means that the code provisions for wind loading are inadequate and there is an urgent need for scrutinizing and revising the code provisions for wind loading. Research in many countries especially Australia indicated that underestimation of wind loads, poor design and insufficient care given to detailing caused failures. Interesting results were obtained from the research project "Techniques to improve Cyclone Resistant Characteristics of the roofs of Industrial sheds at IIT Madras. These results and important information scattered in publications available worldwide have been brought together in this paper. Dissemination and application of research findings through timely incorporation into codes of practice and prescriptive codes is essential.