It’s been 25 years since Hurricane Andrew struck the coast of Florida on August 24, 1992. The state was no match for the 17-foot storm surge and high winds the category 5 storm produced. Andrew became the costliest disaster in …
Munich Reinsurance America, Inc. has developed an immersive Tornado Virtual Reality Experience to help people and businesses understand the devastation wrought by a tornado and the need to embrace resiliency to help reduce future property losses and save lives, all …
Friends and family had gathered to celebrate the life of a Montana firefighter when the deck below their feet suddenly gave way, and they became the victims of the type of disaster to which he spent three decades responding. Nobody …
A catastrophic blaze at a London apartment tower has brought new scrutiny to a long-accepted, counterintuitive rule for people in tall buildings: If the blaze breaks out elsewhere in the structure, don’t automatically run for the stairs. Stay put and …
When building codes are adopted and enforced, there is a substantial reduction in loss, according to Christopher Miller, technical director for ISO’s Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS). During an audio interview with Claims Journal, Miller explained that it’s not …
New maps for Dare County, N.C., are removing thousands of homes and lots from flood zones, creating a need to update local building codes that until now accounted for more rising water. The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reports that, according to …
In April, some 1,200 homebuilders, inspectors, architects and engineers gathered in Louisville, Kentucky, to debate the standards that should guide construction of the next wave of U.S. houses. Engineers had a seemingly unobjectionable proposal: Make roofs in coastal areas less …
As someone whose childhood winter chores included shoveling the roof, I have an intimate familiarity with the concept of the potential for roof collapse from the weight of excessive snow and ice. Winter storms this season have produced all-time record …
According to new research by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, stronger building codes and standards, along with more stringent requirements for inspections, building permits, and contractor licensing, all have contributed to safer, stronger roofs in coastal Alabama, …
Even though predicted to be a below-average hurricane season, two tropical storms already have made landfall in the U.S. Of all types of severe weather, hurricanes are the most costly natural disaster in recent decades, representing seven of the ten …