Australia experiences some of the most severe weather events in the world, because of this, there are strict measures Allshelter has put in place to ensure the safety of your people and assets.
Australian Standards need to be adhered to when planning, designing and building any new structure, including Fabric Shelters. Each Allshelter structure is designed and engineered in accordance with AS1170.2:2021, Australian Standards for wind speed [most recently updated in 2021]. This means that our shelters are made to withstand the highest recorded wind speed of that area. And this is why imported shelters, which are significantly lower value, tend to collapse in these harsh conditions, protecting neither you or your assets, and may even cause damage to your assets, and safety risks such as injury or even death.
There are three main factors to take into consideration when considering any new structure, these are:
- Wind Regions
- Terrain Category
- Importance Level
What Are The Different Wind Regions?
Australia is divided into four different wind regions, based on wind speeds and frequency of extreme weather events occurring in those areas.
The four regions of Australia are:
REGION A: Wind speeds of up to 162km/h (this is the most common region)
REGION B: Wind speeds of up to 205km/h
REGION C: Wind speeds of up to 248km/h
REDION D: Wind speeds of up to 316km/h
Coastal locations generally have a higher wind rating than inland locations. Therefore, if a shelter is going to be moved from location to location, it will likely be engineered to the highest wind speed (Wind Region D) to account for any wind region in Australia.
What Are The Terrain Categories?
Terrain categories refer to an area’s exposure to wind as a result of the surrounding terrain. At Allshelter we base our calculations on four terrain categories:
TERRAIN CATEGORY 1: Exposed, open terrain with few or no obstruction and water surfaces at serviceability wind speeds/ This mostly includes sites close to the coast.
TERRAIN CATEGORY 2: Water surfaces, open terrain including grassland with few, well scattered obstructions having heights generally between 1.5m-5m.
TERRAIN CATEGORY 3: Terrain with numerous closely spaced obstruction 3m-10m high. These are usually suburban areas.
TERRAIN CATEGORY 4: Terrain with numerous, large, high (10m to 30m) and closely spaced obstructions. This is for areas such as large city centres and well-developed industrial complexes.
Importance Levels And What They Mean
The importance levels are designated by the Building Codes of Australia and relate to the level of consequences in the event of a building failure. There are four importance levels, these are:
IMPORTANCE LEVEL 1: Buildings or structures that present a low degree of hazard to life and other property in the case of failure.
IMPORTANCE LEVEL 2: This is the default level, for buildings or structures with medium consequences to human life and considerable economic consequence in the case of failure.
IMPORTANCE LEVEL 3: Buildings and structures that have a high consequence for loss of human life and/or great economic, social or environmental consequences in the event of failure.
IMPORTANCE LEVEL 4: Buildings and structures that are essential to post-disaster recovery or those associated with hazardous facilities.
Contact Us
Allshelter Fabric Dome Shelters are engineered and built specifically suited to your wind region as set out by the Australian Standards, particularly AS1170.2:2021. To find out more about your wind region and how that will affect your Fabric Shelter, contact us today.
