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DHS FEMA NFIP Services - eWaterwark Article
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Strong Building Codes Limit Hurricane Damage
Janice Roper-Graham, Outreach Process Partners
Perched at the mouth of the Jourdan River on the Mississippi Sound, the City of Bay St. Louis was hammered
by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Approximately 30 percent of its buildings were destroyed.
Bill Carrigee, Bay St. Louis Building Code Official and Floodplain Manager, believes it would have
been much worse without the city's building code program.
"Katrina was the perfect storm. It was slow and at an angle to wipe out Bay St. Louis--but we're
still here," says Carrigee. "I attribute a lot to building codes."
Bay St. Louis was the first community in Mississippi to adopt and enforce building codes. The city
is rated a Class 7 in the Community Rating System, creating a safer community and earning residents
a 15-percent discount on their annual NFIP insurance premiums. Bay St. Louis had already adopted the
International Code Council's (IIC's) 2003 codes and was among the first communities in the nation to
adopt the 2006 I-Codes in July. The I-Codes contain flood-resistance provisions in accordance with
the minimum building requirements of the NFIP.
According to Risk Management Solutions, an insurance industry advisor, the number of hurricanes
making landfall in the United States is expected to be 30 percent higher for at least the next 5
years. As a result, annual insurance losses are expected to rise by 40 percent across the Gulf
Coast, Florida, and the Southeast, and by 25-30 percent in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast coastal
regions.
High-risk communities like Bay St. Louis have no choice but to seek proven ways to build stronger
and safer. With storm surge waters more than 20 feet deep during Katrina--considerably deeper than
predicted for the 1-percent-annual-chance flood (previously referred to as the 100-year flood)--most
of the community's buildings were inundated. According to Carrigee, structures that failed did so
mainly due to flotation, wind damage, and the back wave of water returning to the Gulf.
The challenge faced by the city's property owners as the 2006 hurricane season approached was how high
to rebuild. "We're slammed with people trying to put their homes back together," said Carrigee. "If
Base Flood Elevations are high, residents will rebuild their homes 24 feet in the air. This could
create an additional wind hazard." FEMA issued Advisory Base Flood Elevations for Mississippi earlier
this year to give those rebuilding in the state the information they need to protect their homes from
flood hazards.
Recommended Building Codes and Publications
One of FEMA's goals is to reduce loss of life and property damage. Among several strategies to
achieve the goal is the promotion of consensus-based multi-hazard building, life safety, and fire
codes and standards and encouragement of their adoption by states, territories, tribal nations, and
communities. The 2003 and 2006 editions of the International Building Code and the
International Residential Code, and the 2003 and 2006 editions of the National Fire
Protection Association's NFPA 5000 Building Construction and Safety Code, are consistent
with the NFIP requirements for buildings in flood hazard areas.
Two other publications are helpful for homeowners and builders looking to improve disaster
resistance. One,
Recommended Residential Construction for the Gulf Coast: Building on Strong and
Safe Foundations (FEMA 550), offers pre-engineered foundations that will reduce the burden of
design for about 80 percent of the rebuilt homes. The other is NFPA's Model Manufactured Home
Installation Standard (NFPA 225), which includes requirements for floodplain installations.
The International Code
Council publications and
National Fire Protection Association publications can be ordered online. FEMA's publication can be
downloaded from the FEMA website or hard copies can be ordered by telephone (800-480-2520).
Janice Roper-Graham is the Managing Partner of Outreach Process Partners. A former journalist, she
specializes in writing about technical and /engineering topics so the general public can understand
and apply the information.
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| Last Modified:
Friday, 21 January 2011 |
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