Dire Warning Issued at Hurricane Forum

There is an urgent, short-term need to harden existing homes and build stronger structures, while planning for the long-term loss of coastal buffer zones that will make states even more vulnerable to big storms.

 

This was the dire warning issued Wednesday in Orlando, where a group of nearly 200 scientists, public policy makers and other leaders in the field of disaster safety world gathered for the Hurricane Science for Safety Leadership Forum. 

 

U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, kicked off the discussion with a vow to reintroduce federal legislation to promote programs that encourage the strengthening of existing homes and buildings. The legislation has a much better chance of succeeding under an Obama administration.

 

"Take a look at the homes on the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas that are still standing after the hurricane," Thompson said, "we know how to build stronger homes. Now we just need to do it."

 

Thompson was referring to the 10 IBHS Fortified…for safer living® homes that survived Hurricane Ike. Read more about the opening day of the event in today's Orlando Sentinel.  

 

Today, the conference highlights the need for property protection in a unique way.

 

IBHS Senior Vice President of Public Policy Debra Ballen will present "Subsidies and Economic Sustainability: a Clear Case for Mitigation." She will discuss the disproportionate impact natural disasters have on the most vulnerable, and explain how local, state and federal programs to make structures stronger will have significant benefits across the board. 

 

IBHS President and CEO Julie Rochman will lead a panel on Mitigation Technologies, discussing recent IBHS research into Hurricane Ike, the success of the Fortified…for safer living® program, and new initiatives to make existing homes stronger. 

 

The event is sponsored by Renaissance Reinsurance, WeatherPredict Consulting Inc., the Institute for Business & Home Safety and the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes.