Storm & Security

PEOPLE IN THE KNOW 2015 / STORM & SECURITY PROTECTION 5 IN/BOX Tampa Most Vulnerable to Storm Surge Flooding Tampa, FL, has the distinction of being the U.S. metropolitan area most vulnerable to storm surge/flooding damage with a loss potential of $175 billion. That's one of the conclusions reached by Karen Clark & Co. in its August 2015 report, "Most Vulnerable US Cities to Storm Surge Flooding." Tampa is so vulnerable because the continental shelf is relatively wide off the west coast of Florida, because Tampa Bay creates a large funnel so that a severe storm with the right track orientation would cause an enormous buildup of water trapped in the bay, and because 50 percent of the Tampa population lives on ground elevations of less than 10 feet, according to the report. Tampa is followed by New Orleans, with an estimated loss of $130 billion; New York City, with an estimated loss of $100 billion; Miami, with an estimated loss of $80 billion; Fort Myers, with an estimated loss of $70 billion; Galveston- Houston, with an estimated loss of $55 billion; Sarasota, FL, with an estimated loss of $50 billion; and Charleston, SC, with an estimated loss of $45 billion. NOAA Awards $5.7 Million to Improve Hazardous Weather Forecasts The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced in early October, $5.7 million in cooperative research agreements and grants to improve forecasting hazardous and extreme weather including hurricanes, tornadoes, heavy rainfall, floods and snowstorms. "By engaging with a broad array of academic and other research partners, we aim to improve scientific understanding of these hazardous and extreme weather phenomena to solve the real problems our citizens, businesses, and leaders face every single day," said NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan. One of the grants, provided by NOAA Research, awards $1.4 million to the Joint Hurricane Testbed (JHT). This project brings together world-class researchers and forecasters online and in person to develop, test and verify improvements to forecast computer models with the goal of moving hurricane research into day-to-day operations. The funding will support new projects to better use satellite data to improve computer model forecasts of the genesis and rapid intensification of tropical cyclones and improve analysis tools and the forecast products posted online to inform the public. Projects also will support the transition of a new coastal storm tide forecast model to operational use by NOAA hurricane forecasters. IBHS Supports National Mitigation Investment Strategy The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) in October signed on in support of the BuildStrong Coalition's National Mitigation Investment Strategy, which calls for a comprehensive federal plan to enhance the nation's disaster resilience. The strategy recommends: • Creating a state and local building code grant program to help qualified states defray the costs of enforcing resilient construction building codes. The program would be administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) • Increasing FEMA's funding for pre-disaster mitigation activities by $100 million per year from 2016 to 2020 • Passing new congressional initiatives to create resilient construction incentives for states, builders and homeowners. The strategy would be funded by investing a portion of the unspent, non-FEMA grant funds established in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. "These funds can help our communities get ready for the storm before it arrives, reducing unneces- sary property damage and disruption to residents' lives," said Julie Rochman, IBHS president and CEO. "We can't keep doing things the same way, with lives and communities being destroyed over and over again by disasters, year after year," she added. The BuildStrong Coalition is a partnership of national businesses, consumer organizations and emergency management officials dedicated to promoting stronger building codes. Construction, Remodeling Improve at Slower Pace: WDMA Residential new construction starts and residential remodeling projects for 2015 are expected to rise over 2014 levels, but not by quite as much as earlier projected. The Window and Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA) released its semiannual Window and Entry Door Pulse Report in early October updating its earlier projections with the most current market data. The Pulse Report projects 1.07 million residential new construction starts this year—down a bit from its earlier projection of 1.1 million. Most of the drop is found in single-family unit starts, WDMA states. Residential remodeling shows a projected improvement of six percent over 2014, down from an earlier predicted improvement of seven percent.

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