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News reports say Hurricane Dorian is expected to be a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds and could land in Florida as early as this evening.
If this happens, Dorian would be the strongest hurricane to strike the east coast of Florida in nearly three decades. The last storm of this caliber was Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
The 2018 Atlantic hurricane season was the third consecutive season with above-average storms. These storms caused more than $50 billion in damages.
This included Hurricane Michael -- the first Category 5 hurricane to hit the U.S. since Andrew. Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida, on Oct. 10.
The National Institute of Building Sciences is hard at work behind the scenes to help protect you, your home, and loved ones.
Hurricane season is here until after Thanksgiving -- the season doesn’t actually end until Nov. 30.
So whether or not you’re close to a storm, you may be affected. The outer bands of a hurricane come with storm surge, precipitation, and high winds.
There are measures governments, building owners, developers, and tenants can take to reduce the impacts of a hurricane or damaging storm. These measures—called mitigation—can result in significant savings.
It’s critical to take time to assess your home and its surroundings.
Now that you’ve assessed your surroundings and collected supplies, let’s address your home. Take inventory of valuables and personal belongings, and make sure your insurance policy is up to date.
As far as hurricane-proofing your home as best as humanly possible, there are many affordable ways to pull this off.
Every state in the nation is at risk to more than one kind of natural disaster. When it comes to hurricanes: Approximately 127 million people are exposed.
In 1990, just before Hurricane Andrew struck, new buildings built to the 1990 BOCA National Building Code or 1991 Standard Building Code had several vulnerabilities when subjected to high hurricane winds. Specifically, poor connections between roofs and walls, loss of roof decking, increased internal pressures, and water intrusion from windborne debris resulted in widespread hurricane wind damage.
Since 1990, building codes have been strengthened based on lessons learned after later hurricanes. Today, modern building codes have improved our disaster resilience to hurricanes and floods by serving as the baseline to protect our built environment and setting the minimum safety requirements for structures.
The National Institute of Building Sciences has found that compared with a generation ago, code development in these areas saves an estimated $11 for every $1 invested in mitigation efforts.
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