Disaster mitigation strategies that exceed code could save billions

Specific disaster mitigation strategies that go beyond the requirements of the 2015 International Codes model building codes could save the nation billions of dollars, according to the National Institute of Building Sciences just issued Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: 2017 Interim Report.

Investing in hazard mitigation measures to exceed select code requirements can save the nation $4 for every $1 spent, the report says. The report comes on the heels of the nation’s worst year of natural disasters in terms of cost. There were 16 events in 2017 with losses exceeding $1 billion, with total costs of about $306 billion, surpassing the record losses in 2005 by $100 billion.

Effective strategies to exceed minimum requirements of the 2015 I-Codes include:

– For flood resistance (to address riverine flooding and hurricane surge), building new homes higher than required by the 2015 International Building Code (IBC).

– For resistance to hurricane winds, building new homes to comply with the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) FORTIFIED Home Hurricane standards.

– For resistance to earthquakes, building new buildings stronger and stiffer than required by the 2015 IBC.

– For fire resistance in the wildland-urban interface, building new buildings to comply with the 2015 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC).

NIBS notes that while mitigation represents an excellent investment, not everyone is willing or able to bear construction costs for more resilient buildings, even if the long-term benefits exceed the up-front costs. Programs to help finance mitigation projects should align incentives from finance, insurance, government and other stakeholders, NIBS says.

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.