Storm & Security

IN/BOX 10 Billion-dollar Weather Disasters in 2015 In 2015 there were 10 weather and climate disaster events across the United States with losses exceeding $1 billion each, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), the nation's scorekeeper in terms of addressing severe weather and climate events in their historical perspective. These events included five severe storms, two flooding events, a drought, a wildfire and a winter storm. Overall, these events resulted in 155 deaths and had a significant economic impact on the areas affected, NCEI states. The 1980 to 2015 annual average for billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events is 5.2; the annual average for the most recent five years (2011 to 2015) is 10.8 events, according to NCEI. ICC Announces 2016 Building Safety Month Theme The theme for the International Code Council's (ICC) 2016 Building Safety Month will be: Building Codes: Driving Growth through Innovation, Resilience and Safety. Building Safety Month is a public safety awareness campaign running each May. "For the last 36 years, Building Safety Month has celebrated advances in constructing safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures," stated ICC Board of Directors President Alex Olszowy III. "Building to modern codes and standards provides important safety and economic benefits to communities, their businesses, schools, churches and homes, and the people who occupy them." Building Safety Month will be supported by weekly themes that spotlight specific areas of building safety and fire prevention: • Week One, May 2 to 8: Building Solutions for All Ages • Week Two, May 9 to 15: The Science behind the Codes • Week Three, May 16 to 22: Learn from the Past, Build for Tomorrow • Week Four, May 23 to 29: Building Codes: A Smart Investment Simpson Strong-Tie CSS Receives ICC Certification Simpson Strong-Tie has received ESR-3403 certification from the International Code Council Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) for its Composite Strengthening Systems (CSS). The certification provides evidence that its fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) complies with the code requirements of the 2015, 2012, 2009 and 2006 International Building Codes (IBC) and International Residential Codes (IRC). The CSS are externally bonded FRP systems applied to concrete structural elements. CSS consist of carbon fabrics or glass fabrics combined with epoxy resin to create the FRP composite system, or a carbon fiber pre-cured laminate applied with an epoxy paste. "This ICC-ES report will provide code officials with the technical information needed to immediately approve this product for installation with confidence and peace of mind," said ICC-ES President, Shahin Moinian P.E. ICC-ES thoroughly examined the Simpson Strong-Tie product information, test reports, calculations, quality control methods and other factors to ensure the product is code-compliant. "Our new code-listed carbon fabrics provide some of the highest design values in the industry. Full-scale testing is a requirement of the acceptance criteria by an accredited laboratory for an evaluation report, which we were able to perform at Tyrell Gilb Research Laboratory in Stockton, [CA],"said Brad Erickson, S.E., CSS engineering manager at Simpson Strong-Tie. El Niño and Hurricanes: Opposite Effects in Opposite Oceans The 2015 Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons could hardly have been more different. The Atlantic season, as predicted, stayed below normal while the eastern and central Pacific seasons were above normal shattering all-time records, says the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The Atlantic season produced 11 named storms including four hurricanes, two of which became major hurricanes. Although no hurricanes made landfall along a U.S. coast, two tropical storms did: Ana struck the northeastern coast of South Carolina and Bill landed along the Texas coast. NOAA scientists credit El Niño with producing strong vertical wind sheer suppressing the formation of storms in the Atlantic. The eastern Pacific, on the other hand, saw 18 named storms including 13 hurricanes, nine of which became major. This is the first year since reliable recordkeeping began in 1971 that the eastern Pacific saw nine major hurricanes, NHC says. The central Pacific season produced 14 named storms including eight hurricanes, five of which became major. NOAA reports El Niño fueled the eastern and central Pacific seasons by producing the weakest vertical wind sheer on record. Hurricane Patricia was the strongest hurricane on record in the Western Hemisphere in terms of maximum sustained winds (200 mph) and lowest air pressure (879 millibars). Patricia formed on October 22, 2015, and made landfall along the western coast of Mexico on October 23. 6 STORM & SECURITY PROTECTION / FORECAST 2016

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