Mitigating Hurricane And Tornado Damage

We can save lives, taming Nature's Fierceness and Wrath. Never again, a Katrina. We can cut hurricane and tornado losses. Existing technologies can link to reduce damage from, or steer away, severe storms. We can force rain to fall, enlisting gravity to decrete storm energy.

As people cluster on the coast in increasing numbers, coastal populations become more vulnerable to severe damage from catastrophic coastal storms. The authors contented that current public policy has proved unable to cope with the growing problem, and in response they present a comprehensive analysis of coastal storm hazards, standard policy approaches, and promising new means of managing coastal growth. Catastrophic Coastal Storms offers a solution to the policy problem by proposing a merger of hazard mitigation with development management, basing this on extensive surveys of at-risk coastal locations and case studies of post-hurricane recovery. Starting with the local level of government and proceeding to state and federal levels, the authors propose a strategy for overcoming the formidable obstacles to safeguarding the shoreline population and its structures from hurricanes and other severe storms.

"Alvarez drives home the point that for buildings and communities located in hurricane-prone regions, it is not a question of whether the area will be impacted, but when it will be impacted. The book makes a strong case for taking responsibility to understand the vulnerabilities of buildings and structures to hurricane impacts."Timothy Reinhold, P

Reports of natural disasters fill the media with regularity. Places in the world are affected by natural disaster events every day. Such events include earthquakes, cyclones, tsunamis, wildfires – the list could go on for considerable length. In the 1990s there was a concentrated focus on natural disaster information and mitigation during the International Decade for Natural Disasters Reduction (IDNDR). The information was technical and provided the basis for major initiatives in building structures designed for seismic safety, slope stability, severe storm warning systems, and global monitoring and reporting. Mitigation, or planning in the event that natural hazards prevalent in a region would suddenly become natural disasters, was a major goal of the decade-long program. During the IDNDR, this book was conceptualized, and planning for its completion began. The editors saw the need for a book that would reach a broad range of readers who were not actively or directly engaged in natural disasters relief or mitigation planning, but who were in decision-making positions that provided an open window for addressing natural disaster issues. Those people were largely elected public officials, teachers, non-governmental organization staff, and staff of faith-based organizations. Those people, for the most part, come to know very well the human and physical characteristics of the place in which they are based. With that local outreach in mind, the editors intended the book to encourage readers to: 1.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to the coast along the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in an unprecedented relief, recovery, and reconstruction effort. This reconstruction presents a unique opportunity to rebuild the communities and public infrastructure using the latest hazard mitigation techniques proven to be more protective of lives and property. Critical facilities comprise all public and private facilities deemed by a community to be essential for the delivery of vital services, protection of special populations, and the provision of other services of importance for that community. This manual concentrates on a smaller group of facilities that are crucial for protecting the health and safety of the population: health care, educational, and emergency response facilities. The Design Guide for Improving Critical Facility Safety from Flooding and High Winds (FEMA 543) was developed with the support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region IV in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This manual recommends incorporating hazard mitigation measures into all stages and at all levels of critical facility planning and design, for both new construction and the reconstruction and rehabilitation of existing facilities. It provides building professionals and decision makers with information and guidelines for implementing a variety of mitigation measures to reduce the vulnerability to damage and disruption of operations during severe flooding and high-wind events. The underlying theme of this manual is that by building more robust critical facilities that will remain operational during and after a major disaster, people's lives and the community's vitality can be better preserved and protected. The poor performance of many critical facilities in the affected areas was not unique to Hurricane Katrina. It was observed in numerous hurricanes dating back more than three decades. Several reasons may explain this kind of performance. In many cases the damaged facilities were quite old and were constructed well before the introduction of modern codes and standards. Some of the older facilities were damaged because building components had deteriorated as a result of inadequate maintenance. Many fa¬cilities occupy unsuitable buildings that were never intended for this type of use. Some newer facilities suffered damage as a result of deficiencies in design and construction or the application of inappropriate design criteria and standards. The primary objective of this manual is to assist the building design community and local officials and decision makers in adopting and implementing sound mitigation measures that will decrease the vulnerability of critical facilities to major disasters. The goals of this manual are to: Present and recommend the use of building design features and building materials and methods that can improve the performance of critical facilities in hazard-prone areas during and after flooding and high-wind events. m Introduce and provide guidelines for implementing flooding and high-wind mitigation best practices into the process of design, construction, and operation and maintenance of critical facilities; and To aid in the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, this manual presents an overview of the principal planning and design considerations for improving the performance of critical facilities during, and in the aftermath of, flooding and high-wind events. It provides design guidance and practical recommendations for protecting critical facilities and their occupants against these natural hazards. It presents incremental approaches that can be implemented over time to decrease the vulnerability of buildings, but emphasizes the importance of incorporating the requirements for mitigation against flooding and high winds into the planning and design of critical facilities from the very beginning of the process.

Every year, tornadoes, hurricanes, & other extreme windstorms injure & kill people, & damage millions of dollars worth of property in the U.S. Having a shelter, or safe room, built into your house can help you protect yourself & your family from injury or death caused by the dangerous forces of extreme winds. This report answers questions about your living conditions so you can decide how best to protect yourself & your family. Also provides shelter designs that will show your builder/contractor how to construct a shelter underneath, in the basement of, or in an interior room of a new house, or how to modify an existing house to add a shelter.

Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans and surrounding areas in August 2005, ranks as one of the nation's most devastating natural disasters. Shortly after the storm, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers established a task force to assess the performance of the levees, floodwalls, and other structures comprising the area's hurricane protection system during Hurricane Katrina. This book provides an independent review of the task force's final draft report and identifies key lessons from the Katrina experience and their implications for future hurricane preparedness and planning in the region.