“We had prepared for an emergency. The emergency we had prepared for was an act of terrorism, not this.” Water is incredibly destructive. “Future Is in Limbo for the Damaged Buildings Close to the Water’s Edge“
Tag Archives | Building
Final Version of Coastal Best Development Practices Manual Released
Posted on July 23, 2012
This winter we mentioned an earlier draft of the Best Practices Manual for Development in Coastal Louisiana, but the final version is out now, and it looks great. You can find it on the project’s website. Even if you’re not in Louisiana, it’s worth a look.
How Easy Can Freeboard for an Existing Structure Be?
Posted on October 28, 2011
Pretty easy. A freeboard success story from FEMA: Gail Cunningham Coen of Westport wishes that people would realize how easy it is to elevate your flood-prone house, especially when the Long Island Sound is just feet from your front door. “We didn’t even take the pictures off the wall,” Coen said, referring to the elevation […]
Video from Last Week’s Wind Retrofit Webinar
Posted on October 18, 2011
The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety has released a video of their webinar last week, “IBHS Fortified for Existing Homes and FEMA’s Wind Retrofit Guide.” The webinar covered the joint engineering guidance provided by the IBHS FORTIFIED for Existing Homes program and FEMA’s Wind Retrofit Guide, both of which were introduced in 2010 […]
FEMA Releases Updated Coastal Construction Manual
Posted on October 7, 2011
FEMA has updated their bible on construction in coastal areas, the Coastal Construction Manual. Like the bible, it’s no pamphlet: this version comes in at 253 pages and a hefty 33MB. But if you’re involved in any sort of construction in coastal areas (including deciding where it should happen), you already know that you need […]
New Jersey Community Gets Serious About NFIP Compliance
Posted on August 14, 2011
Sea Isle City, NJ isn’t messing around with National Flood Insurance Program compliance issues. The city recently sent out 193 court summons to owners of non-compliant structures (mostly concerning inadequate flood vents and illegal conversions of below-home storage into living space) telling them to get their structures in order. The city’s motivation? The possible benefits […]
How Residents Can Lower (or Keep) Homeowner’s Insurance
Posted on June 14, 2011
A good short article on Al.com on how building smarter can do more than just keep buildings safe, it can lower homeowner insurance premiums (to lower flood insurance rates, learn more about the Community Rating System). We’ve long been fans of freeboard, and have touted how much money it can save homeowners. What’s great about […]
Massachusetts Town Amends Zoning Bylaw to Reduce Flood Losses
Posted on May 12, 2011
In an attempt to lessen flood losses, the town of Hull, Massachusetts has amended their zoning bylaw to consider not only current, but future conditions. Notable changes include: 1. A requirement that the town’s review process ensures that a proposed project won’t cause or worsen flooding on other properties (sounds like a good NAI approach). […]
Great New Publication on Elevating Existing Homes [UPDATED]
Posted on April 14, 2011
We all know that the best way to keep buildings out of flood waters is to keep them out of areas that flood. The reality for most communities, though, is that homes and other structures are already in areas that flood. What to do then? There are many options, of course. You could somehow acquire […]
FEMA Releases Wind Retrofiting Guide
Posted on March 7, 2011
FEMA has released a new publication on how to best retrofit existing residential buildings. While it was designed with the Gulf of Mexico in mind, it should be applicable for coastal areas around the country (or at least those subject to major wind). You can download the (large) PDF directly from FEMA’s website.