What to do with your trampoline before the wind picks up
By Nick Dent
They bring joy to kids everywhere and can be found on any suburban street in Australia. But the backyard trampoline can turn into a dangerous missile in the event of strong winds and storm events.
In January, severe storms in NSW resulted in flying trampolines causing damage to property in Cessnock.
Ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, Brisbane City Council has urged residents to ensure loose items such as trampolines, furniture, toys, pot plants and uncollected waste bins are brought inside and secured to minimise possible damage.
Trampolines are liable to fly away in strong winds.Credit: Brett Ritson (Perth Weather Live)
Griffith University disaster expert Dr Jamie Ranse said it was important that trampolines be urgently secured.
“We’ve seen them fly in less-than-cyclonic conditions, so chances are they are going to fly in a cyclone. So people should probably be securing them to the ground or moving them into a garage or somewhere out of the elements,” he said.
Morningside resident Katrina Nelson decided to dismantle her kids’ trampoline after experiencing a gazebo blowing away in a storm at Christmas.
“I looked around my yard and secured the things I thought could cause a problem, and the biggest thing I had was my trampoline,” she said.
“Someone on Facebook suggested putting sandbags on it, but I drove past the sandbag line this morning and I can confirm it’s really big.
“It’s much easier to pull down than to erect a trampoline.”
Nelson’s trampoline is the Vuly Play brand, a company with its headquarters in Wakerley, Brisbane.
Among its accessories, Vuly sells trampoline anchors that you might think would secure a trampoline in a storm.
However, the Vuly Play website states that “the anchor kit is designed to help make the trampoline sturdier during play. It is not designed to secure the trampoline during strong winds. We recommend moving the trampoline to a sheltered location during strong winds and storms.”
A Vuly Play customer service representative said they were advising customers to dismantle the trampolines to avoid any issues.
“Alternatively, we are also suggesting that customers remove the safety net of the trampoline and then have the trampoline flipped upside down, so it’s completely flat, then adding heavy loads of sandbags on top of the trampoline to prevent any sort of movement,” she said.
The Bunnings Workshop website says the retailer has heavy-duty pegs for securing trampolines, but “can’t guarantee that the trampoline won’t blow away in gale-force winds”.
Dr Chris James, a University of Queensland expert in hypersonic aerothermodynamics, said the problem with trampolines was their surface area.
“Trampolines, empty bins, and things that are light but have a large surface area are going to pick up a lot of drag force and get pushed around,” he said.
“The fabric on the trampolines is actually quite strong, that’s why they can be a dangerous thing in these types of situations. If they just broke, they wouldn’t be a problem.”
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