Hurricane Ian struck the Southwest Florida coastline last fall with winds exceeding 150 mph, flooding cities, and devastating structures across the state.
A construction risk management expert writing for Multifamily Dive believes the projected economic damage, as high as $75 billion, will prompt the state to beef up building codes and reform land use rules. Changes may include higher elevations requirements, elevated living spaces, and mandates for concrete block framing.
Single-family and multifamily homes anchored on concrete piers may be designed with open garages to protect elevated living spaces. Building pad elevations are likely to rise.
Nearly 500,000 insurance claims have already been filed in the aftermath of Ian, with estimated losses of $4.5 billion, according to the Florida Office of Regulation. Thousands of residents are still waiting to rebuild destroyed homes.
Improved codes and regulations that yield more resilient structures will help ensure that the state will better withstand the impact of future mega-storms like Ian that are likely to strike the state again. Florida officials appear to be getting that message.
Related Stories
| Aug 14, 2014
CDC report highlights need for heat acclimatization to prevent worker deaths
CDC supports OSHA’s analysis suggesting that the primary risk factor for heat fatalities is the lack of acclimatization programs.
| Aug 8, 2014
California revives study of earthquake faults
California reinstituted an ambitious plan to study dangerous earthquake faults and create zoning maps that could restrict development.
| Aug 6, 2014
Loudoun County, Virginia may dump green building requirements
Loudoun County, Va., supervisors may do away with a county policy that requires LEED Silver certification on new county buildings.
| Aug 6, 2014
$300 million mixed-use project in Chicago’s medical district wins key approval
The Illinois Medical District Commission approved a 1.16 million-sf, $300 million mixed-use project in Chicago’s Illinois Medical District.
| Aug 4, 2014
Facebook’s prefab data center concept aims to slash construction time in half
Less than a year after opening its ultra-green, hydropowered data center facility in Luleå, Sweden, Facebook is back at it in Mother Svea with yet another novel approach to data center design.
| Jul 31, 2014
LEED Dynamic Plaque gives owners and tenants ability to monitor building performance
The LEED Dynamic Plaque could aid certified buildings in maintaining performance with up-to-date information about water and energy use, waste reduction efforts, occupant experience, and other green performance categories.
| Jul 31, 2014
Gypsum Association releases updates to wallboard repair standards
The Gypsum Association released updates to both GA-221 Repair of Joint Ridging and GA-222 Repairing Screw or Nail Pops standards publications.
| Jul 31, 2014
Cambridge, Mass., is latest locale to require energy usage disclosure
The City Council of Cambridge, Mass., approved the Building Energy Usage and Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) that requires benchmarking and disclosure of building energy performance for large commercial, institutional, and multifamily buildings.
| Jul 31, 2014
Stalled $1.5 billion Miami mixed-use redevelopment project advances
A long-delayed $1.5 billion mixed-use development in Miami moved ahead after city planners approved the project’s first phase.
| Jul 30, 2014
USGS updates National Seismic Hazard Maps
The U.S. Geological Service recently released an update of U.S. National Seismic Hazard Maps that reflect the latest analysis of where future earthquakes will occur, how frequently they may occur, and their strength.
