Rebuilding after Disasters: A Loss Mitigation Perspective

Forest Products Society’s Sustainable Disaster Relief Housing Conference

October 28, 2011

Timothy Reinhold, Ph.D., P.E. IBHS Senior Vice President of Research &

Chief Engineer

“Where building safety research leads to

real-world solutions.”

IBHS Mission

To reduce the social and economic effects of natural disasters and other property losses by conducting research and advocating improved construction, maintenance and preparation practices.

Exponential Increase in $ Losses

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Decade

Insu

red

Lo

sses f

rom

Hu

rric

an

es

(1990 d

ollars

- B

illio

ns)

Source: NOAA Data 1900 – 1990 IBHS Data 2000 -

Building Performance Chain

Loads & Effects

Design Maintenance Construction &

Installation

Building Codes and Enforcement

Retrofitting

Where You Build

How You Build How Well You Maintain

Building Codes

• are an important base for assuring a common measure of safety and performance

• must address the risks inherent at the location

• are minimum standards

• based on sound engineering provide good structural performance

Hurricane Charley Experience 2004

• Data from 5,200 policies written by one company in Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte

• Permit data obtained from the Charlotte County

• Wind speed estimates obtained from Applied Research Associates (Company that developed hurricane wind risk modeling used in ASCE 7)

Claim Frequency by Age of Home

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

Fra

cti

on

of

Po

licie

s

Year of Construction

Frequency of Claims - Fraction of policies with Claims

Average = 36.4%

Average = 18.3%

1995 High Wind Standards

Strong Codes Reduce Claim Severity and Frequency

Severity

Pre 1996: $24/sf

1996 - 2004:

$14/sf

- 42%

Frequency

Pre 1996: 41 claims/100 policies

1996 - 2004:

17 claims/100 policies

- 60%

9

Amount of Roof Damage

4%

20%

51%

25%

14%

48%

33%

5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

% of

Total Claims

Pre 1996 1996 - 2004

Building Code Category

No Roof Damage Partial Covering Whole Covering Whole Covering with Decking

* Includes claims with known damage types only, except for partial covering/partial decking.

10

Interior Damage and ALE by Year of Construction

29%

51%

9%

11%

44%

47%

9%0%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

% Total

Claims

Pre 1996 1996 - 2004

Building Code Category

Interior Damage,

ALE ≥ 1 Month

Interior Damage,

ALE < 1 Month

Interior Damage,

No ALE

No Interior Damage

11

Garage Door Failures

• Failed primarily due to lack of reinforcement and track bracing for design pressures

• Some were also damaged by windborne debris

Newer HUD Building Codes

IBHS Voluntary Construction Standards Code Plus Bringing up to code

Code Plus Aspects for New Construction

• Increases design loads for pertinent hazards • Performance based criteria with some prescriptive

options • Paying attention to water penetration • Wind and/or hail impact resistant roofing • Formal design review • Connections, connections, connections • Verification through targeted inspections • Some insurance discounts are available in some

markets (company by company)

Performance of FORTIFIED . . . For safer living ® Homes in Ike

• Roof covering and sealed roof deck

• Structural capacity

• Water intrusion and water management

Fortified Designated Homes on Bolivar Peninsula

Fortified Designated Homes on Bolivar Peninsula

Fortified Designated Homes on Bolivar Peninsula

One Approach to a Sealed Roof Deck

A Different Type of Shingles

Gable End Failure

Inside Home with Gable End Failure

Signs of Water Intrusion

Signs of Water Intrusion

Objective science can – and does – significantly reduce property losses, injuries and deaths.

IBHS Research Center

Wind Hail

Wildfire Water

Large Test Chamber

145 ft W x 145 ft L x 70 ft H test chamber

60 ft W x 30 ft H wind inlet

105 fans, each with 350 hp motors

Enough power for 9,000 homes

Flow volume = 20 X Niagara Falls

High-speed cameras & TV lighting

Recreating Mother Nature in the Lab

Wind Data Gathered in Field

During Disasters

Engineers Use Data to Recreate Actual Wind

Scenarios in Lab

105 Fans Bring Scenarios to Life

Wind Simulation Capabilities

Extra-tropical winds - frontal system or Nor’easter Hurricane-force winds - Category 1, 2, 3

Tornadoes - vortex edge conditions Thunderstorms - frontal winds

Initial Major Research Focus

• Roofs = 1st line of defense against many natural hazards

– Wind

– Wind driven rain

– Wind driven ember (firebrand) attacks

– Hail

• Wind Loads and Wind Effects

• Current Test Standards and Ratings

Roof Covering Failures

95% of Homes w/ Claims 52% of $ in Claims

3-Tab Shingle Permit Survey Post Charley Replacement

Wind-Driven Rain ~ 8 in. per hour

Spray nozzle

Drainage system in the attic to collect water that

entered though vents and, after roof shingles were

blown off / removed, through the roof deck.

Water collection system in living

space;

50 – 2’ x 10’ collection zones in

the duplex

Water Intrusion through Soffits

Open

Covered

Water Intrusion: Gable End Vent

At a wind speed of 30 mph+ Water Entry Rate for Open Vent = Wind-driven Water Deposition Rate

Water Entry Through Openings: Roof On

Opening Open Soffit Vinyl Vented Gable End

Direction & Wind Speed

Head On 45 Head On 45 Head On

miles/hour Accumulation

Inch / hr (% wall deposition)

Relative to Open Soffit Inch / hr (% wall

deposition)

50 1.3 (15) 1.6 (20) 6% 3% ~8 (100%)

70 2.9 (33) ----- 25% ----- -----

Water Intrusion: Exposed Roof Sheathing

Water entry through sealed roof deck ~ 1/3 that through unsealed roof deck. Water entry through un-taped roof deck >> water entry through openings at eave and gable end.

Examples of water entry into living space

Consequences of Water Entry

Loss Estimates Unsealed Roof Deck = 3 X Greater

Furniture Cleaning versus Replacement ($16,935 vs. $5,408)

Thank you! Questions?

www.DisasterSafety.org

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