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A12 SCIENCE
Thursday 2 June 2022

Here’s how the government wants to

disaster-proof your home

The program is designed
to help buildings withstand
damage caused by all
natural disasters, including
wildfires, tornadoes and
floods.
The codes ensure, for ex-
ample, that roofs can
withstand hurricane-force
winds, that construction
materials are resistant to
flood damage and that in-
sulation helps reduce heat-
ing and cooling costs, offi-
cials said.
This image released by the National Park Service, shows a
collapsed beachfront home along Ocean Drive in Rodanthe, It’s a “no-brainer” to make
N.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. new houses and buildings
Associated Press more energy efficient as a
means of reducing climate
By FREIDA FRISARO “The adoption of hazard- change impacts, said Wen-
MIAMI (AP) — On this first resistant building codes dell Porter, professor emeri-
day of the Atlantic hur- saves communities $11 per tus of building professions
ricane season, federal every $1 invested,” Criswell at the University of Florida.
officials are launching a said, citing a finding by the But location is what really
new initiative to modern- National Institute of Build- matters, he said.
ize building codes so that ing Sciences. “You don’t want to rain on
communities can be more The initiative, approved anybody’s parade,” Porter
resilient to hurricanes, by the National Climate said. “A big announce-
flooding, wildfires, and oth- Task Force earlier this ment that they’re going to
er extreme weather events year, comes amid signs build better houses, that’s
that are intensifying due to that coastal communities always good news. But un-
climate change. should brace themselves til you decide to not build
Deanne Criswell, the ad- for more intense storms. The in certain locations, it’s a
ministrator for the Federal National Oceanic and At- waste of time.”
Emergency Management mospheric Administration Take coastal communities,
Agency, and Ali Zaidi, the predicted 14 to 21 named for example.
deputy national climate storms in the Atlantic this “It’s really hard to build a
adviser to President Joe season, with six to 10 be- structure to actually with-
Biden, discussed the initia- coming hurricanes and stand flooding,” Porter said,
tive Wednesday during three to six turbo-charging “There’s only two real good
a briefing at the National into major hurricanes with methods and that’s either
Hurricane Center in Miami, winds greater than 110 build it up, or retreat. Stilts
where recovering from a mph (177 kph). or away.”
hit similar to Hurricane An- It’s already begun with After Miami-Dade County
drew could cost hundreds Agatha, a storm that bat- was hit by Hurricane An-
of billions today. tered Mexico over the past drew, stringent building
Updated building codes few days and may re-form code enforcement fol-
provide a range of smart in the Gulf of Mexico and lowed. But so did popula-
design and construction possibly threaten parts of tion growth, coastal de-
methods “that save lives, Florida by this weekend, velopment and climate
reduce property damage, the hurricane center said. change. Andrew was the
and lower utility bills,” ac- “This initiative is proof that most expensive natural di-
cording to a news release acting on climate change saster in U.S. history at the
announcing the National delivers countless benefits time, causing more than
Initiative to Advance Build- to all Americans, especial- $26 billion of damage in
ing Codes. It applies to new ly in our most vulnerable Florida’s most populous ar-
construction and to homes communities,” said Gina eas.
and buildings that are re- McCarthy, the president’s Likewise, officials said, edu-
built due to damage. national climate adviser. cation will be a key ele-
ment of the modernized
building codes. A FEMA
analysis found that only
35% of cities, counties and
towns across the country
have updated hazard-re-
sistant building codes. Cost
is a factor: Construction
and renovation designed
for disaster resiliency can
be more expensive. q