ARE CONSTRUCTION CRANES SAFE DURING HURRICANE SANDY?

With two massive cranes looming over downtown Bethesda recently, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has wondered how cranes handle hurricanes.

I did some research, and it turns out that they are designed specifically for such events.

In addition to being built to withstand hurricane-force winds, crane operators will disengage the crane's turntable, allowing it to spin freely in the gusting wind.

When cranes have collapsed during storms, it has rarely been just the wind that caused it.  Rust, metal fatigue, failure of the tie-downs, and multidirectional, high-wind events have been fingered as culprits in such disasters.  Surprisingly, they are quite rare.

Of course, like a plane crash, the rarity doesn't help if you happen to be on board!