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Building Safety Group Says Survivability Depends on Education
WASHINGTON, July 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaking in support of
federal efforts to boost building safety after a devastating series of storms
in 2004 and 2005, a home safety group today told a Congressional panel that
getting better information to the public is critical to implementing building
improvements.
The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, or FLASH, Inc. -- a partnership of
more than 100 public, private and nonprofit organizations -- said the National
Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (NWIRP) can work, and urged lawmakers to
expand the program's outreach among home buyers, home owners, home builders
and public policymakers. FLASH was invited to testify before the Subcommittee
on Technology and Innovation, House Committee on Science and Technology, to
review the NWIRP's activities and role in saving lives and reducing property
losses from windstorms.
Leslie Chapman-Henderson, president and CEO of FLASH, Inc., said research
into building failures in windstorm is essential and that the findings and
information should be shared and widely promoted among those who can most
benefit from using improved construction measures.
"We want consumers to understand that luck is not their best tool to
confront natural disasters. We have to break the cycle of
build-destroy-rebuild," Chapman-Henderson said. "Identifying and
communicating better windstorm mitigation techniques to those who will benefit
from them should be a guiding principle for all program outcomes. We want to
avoid the communication breakdown that can occur between consumers, builders
and policymakers."
In its testimony, FLASH, Inc. said that model building codes developed to
improve resistance to wind damage -- including measures such as better window
protection and stronger roof connections -- have not always been implemented
in rebuilding efforts. FLASH, Inc. recommended improving implementation
through consumer education and incentive programs that reward communities that
enact and enforce model codes.
"To make it work, we need consumers who know what they are looking for in
safe homes," Chapman-Henderson said. "There has been some progress in
increasing model code adoption at the state levels, but we can do better in
encouraging adoption at the local levels."
New codes can impact approximately 2 percent of the built environment in
any non-disaster year, but that percentage can increase dramatically in a
post-storm rebuilding period, according to FLASH, Inc.
Today, about 12 percent of the U.S. population -- roughly 35 million
people -- lives in coastal areas fromTexas toNorth Carolina that are
regularly in the path of hurricanes. According to inflation-adjusted
estimates of insured losses from disasters between 1987 and 2006, total
disaster losses amounted to about $297.3 billion. Of that amount, about 46
percent -- $137.7 billion -- came from tropical cyclones. About 26 percent --
$77.3 billion - came from tornadoes. By comparison, earthquakes accounted for
only about 6 percent of the total losses.
Chapman-Henderson compared the movement to establish disaster safety as a
public value with the highway safety movement, which succeeded in creating
American demand for safe, well-built vehicles with seat belts and air bags.
"Just as American consumers now shop for safer cars, we think
knowledgeable consumers will soon be shopping for safe and disaster-resistant
homes," Chapman-Henderson said. "The essential tools they require to do so is
a clear standard to rate a strong, wind-resistant home -- a standard backed by
a system of building codes that ensure optimal, future construction
practices."
A similar concept now in use inFlorida is the Hurricane Resistance Rating
Scale. The scale ranks homes on a zero to 100 scale on the basis of its
wind-resistant features. Linked to building codes, this concept could be
adapted nationally to a model scale and promoted within the home construction
industry in windstorm exposed states, including coastal areas and the so-
called "Tornado Alley."
Leslie Chapman-Henderson is President/CEO of the Federal Alliance for Safe
Homes, Inc. - FLASH(R), a national, non-profit corporation founded in 1998 by
a collaborative of non-profit, private and public organizations dedicated to
strengthening homes and safeguarding families from disaster. Today, FLASH is
the fastest growing disaster safety education organization inthe United
States with more than 90 partners, including FEMA, Georgia Pacific, Institute
for Business & Home Safety, International Code Council, Mercedes Homes,
NeighborWorks, NOAA, South Carolina Insurance Department, State Farm Insurance
Companies, Texas Department of Insurance, Texas Tech Wind Science &
Engineering, The Home Depot and Home Depot Foundation, University of Florida,
and USAA.
Ms. Chapman-Henderson and FLASH have championed the cause of code-plus
construction methods through the creation of Blueprint for Safety(R)
(Blueprint), an educational program for homebuilders, homeowners and design
professionals on disaster-resistant construction techniques.
SOURCE Federal Alliance for Safe Homes
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