One of the greatest threats to the maintenance and up-keep of our countries naval installations is that of hurricanes. Each year throughout the summer and autumn months, coastlines are prey to nature's fury in the form of these storms which originate and build their strength in the ocean only to unleash their incredible power on the facilities and living creatures which inhabit the waterfront, and in some cases, much further inland. The devastation caused by past major hurricanes has been catastrophic, resulting in billions of dollars in lost property as well as human life. Each time that a major hurricane occurs, communities are forced to rebuild their homes, businesses, schools, churches, and all of the other facilities that are taken for granted by most people. On each of these occasions, the effected residents and local Governments rebuild in accordance with building codes that may not have been in effect when the damaged or destroyed structures were originally built. In many cases, the damage incurred during the storm could have been avoided if the buildings in question had been retrofitted with equipment specifically designed to enable buildings to withstand hurricanes.