The two biggest potential impacts from hurricane wind damage are release of hazardous materials into the environment and the economic impact of repairing damaged structures, including loss of production while the repairs are underway. Hurricane preparedness procedures that lessen one of the potential impacts often have a negative effect on the other potential impact. Consider the common case of a steel storage tank. These are very thin shell structures. Empty, they can be easily damaged or destroyed by moderate hurricane wind speeds, like squeezing an empty soda can between two fingers. A full tank is much stronger, much like an unopened soda can. Hurricane preparedness procedures often call for tanks to be filled. This significantly increases the wind resistance of the tank, thereby reducing the potential that a release will occur. However, in the event of damage, the entire contents of a full could potentially be released. Sometimes vessels and piping systems are drained, which reduces the potential for releases but simultaneously increases the potential for damage, by depriving the structures of the additional weight to resist overturning.
