While none of them are ever desirable, natural disasters do sadly take place, and one major task for any area where this happens is protecting structures and the people inside them. One common material that’s often used with this and other protective qualities in mind: Stainless steel.

At Wasatch Steel, we’re proud to offer a wide variety of steel sheet, steel bar, steel tube and numerous others, including many stainless steel solutions for our clients who require them. Our products are commonly used for construction and numerous related structural areas, including protection from various potential natural disasters and related weather events. This two-part blog series will dig into some of the advantages of stainless steel for withstanding natural disasters of varying types.

Disaster Types and Structures

Sadly, natural disasters come in many types. They also may vary significantly based on where you live – those in some areas of the country are at a much higher tornado risk than others, for instance, while others may be in areas where earthquakes are more common.

Beyond those two types, there are also fires, which tend to take place in the dry areas of the country. There are also flooding risks in lower areas that are near oceans or other bodies of water, often the result of related concerns like typhoons. Stainless steel products show positive qualities in withstanding each of these potential disasters, however, due to several qualities we’ll go over for the remainder of our series.

Strength

First and foremost, stainless steel is very strong and durable. This makes it a must for structures experiencing several forms of natural disaster, from earthquakes to water-related issues – occasions where the first thing people are looking for is the ability to take cover and be protected by the structure they’re in.

For any area where these kinds of disasters are even a slight possibility, stainless steel will often be used. Various stainless steel alloys hold up well to pressure and stress, plus can be manipulated to be even stronger. Reinforcing bars, for instance, are commonly made from stainless steel for stability.

Elasticity

Earthquakes can be particularly damaging to structures, in large part because they cause major vibrations that might lead to everything from swaying and breaking to full-on structural collapse. However, stainless steel is known to have a high elasticity quotient – this means that it will be able to withstand significant vibrations of this type without collapsing or breaking down in any way. Even when earthquake-level vibrations are taking place, stainless steel will hold up and allow its surrounding structural elements to do the same.

For more on the value of stainless steel for preventing natural disasters, or to learn about any of our steel products or services, speak to the staff at Wasatch Steel today.