Disaster Safety Blog

Wildfire season heats up in New Mexico

A wildfire in New Mexico is still threatening properties today, despite being partially contained by firefighters Wednesday.

What is being called the Quail Ridge Fire is burning near Silver City. The blaze has consumed nearly 1,800 acres and destroyed 13 houses and 47 other buildings, according to news reports. Officials say up to 100 structures within the burn area and another 100 buildings within a quarter-mile of the fire perimeter are still considered threatened.

 Find solutions to protect your New Mexico home, business or farm from wildfire at www.DisasterSafety.org/wildfire.

Property damage reported in three states after storms

Violent weather caused property damage in three states where tornadoes and severe thunderstorms struck Wednesday. The storm system that spawned the severe weather moved into Florida and onto the East Coast this morning.

One of the hardest hit areas on Wednesday was the metro of New Orleans, La., which was the site of three tornadoes and heavy rain. Other tornadoes were reported Biloxi, Miss., and Baldwin and Mobile counties in Alabama. Damage assessments are underway.

Find solutions for reducing the risk of wind damage by strengthening roof to wall connections at DisasterSafety.org.

Wild weather puts properties at increased risk of damage

Weather across the U.S. is a case of extremes right now and threats to properties remain high. Take control of your risk, regardless of what threats you may be facing.

In the west and parts of the south and east, including Florida and Texas, drought conditions and windy weather have elevated the threat of wildfires. While in parts of the Midwest and southeast, residents are dealing with swollen rivers and flooded communities. Communities along the east coast are once again digging out from a snowstorm. Another storm is expected to hit the east coast later this week.

Find resources to protect your property from flooding, freezing weather, wildfire and other natural hazards at DisasterSafety.org, where you can enter your ZIP Code and get a personalized list of risks that face the areas where you live and work.

Severe weather rips through nation's mid-section

Severe Awareness Week got off to an active start in many states Monday with storms damaging properties in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio with high winds, heavy rains and localized flooding.

Teams from the National Weather Service are investigating the aftermath of storms in several of these areas to see if tornadoes or straight-line winds were the cause of widespread property damage.

Tornadoes were reported in Missouri, where five people were killed during the severe weather. A rare winter tornado was confirmed in Fairfield County, Ohio, on Monday morning and left behind severe property damage.

As the spring approaches and storm season ramps up, take steps to prepare your home or business before severe weather threatens. When repairing storm damage, consider ways to strengthen the property against future storms. IBHS offers expert guidance for both of these approaches.

Visit www.DisasterSafety.org, where you can enter your ZIP Code to see what natural hazards you face and get property protection information to reduce the risk of damage.

CEA rolls out retrofit program in California

California’s nonprofit earthquake insurance provider is shaking up its efforts to protect lives and property, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA), which is an IBHS member company, is devoting $23 million to launch a retrofit program that would give owners $1,000 each to improve their home's ability to withstand quake damage. The newspaper says the program could boost business for remodeling contractors during the weak economy.

CEA Earthquake Response Manager Dan Dyce joined IBHS and representatives from the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium and the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the Earthquakes: Mean Business conference earlier this month in St. Louis. Dyce briefly discussed plans for the retrofit program during a panel discussion, which included IBHS, CUSEC and FEMA representatives, who discussed structural and non-structural retrofit options and business continuity planning tools.

IBHS offers the Open for Business^® program to help small business owners prioritize their plans to safeguard their business against all types of natural and manmade risks, including earthquakes. Download a free copy.

Building code update would require stronger enforcement in Memphis

An update to the commercial building code in Memphis, Tenn., which is considered among the cities at highest risk of damage from an earthquake along the New Madrid Seismic Zone, is expected to take effect this spring, pending final approval by city and county officials, according to the Commercial Appeal. The newspaper reports "the code will make buildings not just safer, but better, more serviceable."

According to the report, the new rules will require more inspections to ensure the code is being met. The existing code lacks enforcement requirements.

The new seismic codes emphasize creating a continuous load path from the roof to the foundation with the intent of increasing the building's ability to do more than just allow people to escape prior to a collapse, according to the newspaper.

The newspaper also reports along with the code update, there also is now an increased focus on encouraging non-structural mitigation, such as securing bookshelves, hanging fixtures and appliances, to prevent items from falling on people. Falling objects are the major source of damage due to earthquakes in the Midwest, according to the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC). Both of these factors will allow a busienss to re-open quickly with little or no damage after an earthquake.

Structural and non-structural mitigation, along with a push for strong building codes and enforcement in the Midwest, were the focus of an earthquake outreach initiative conducted by IBHS, CUSEC and the Federal Emergency Management Agency earlier this month in five states, including Tennessee.

The newspaper describes the new Tennessee building code classifications in four ways:

Collapse prevention. It's like the crumple zone of a car. The auto may be totaled, but you can walk away from a crash.

Life safety. Better secures nonstructural elements of a building, such as light fixtures and bookcases that could fall on people. The building might still be unusable or require massive renovation, but its occupants were able to get out. This is the level the updated code is targeting most buildings, Paullus said.

Immediate occupancy. Building withstands a quake so well that it's repairable with a few months of work.

Essential structures. These are buildings everyone will depend on for recovery and order should a quake hit. They include police and fire stations, hospital operating rooms and military installations. These structures are so resistant, a quake may cause people inside to fall, but they can get up and go back to work.

For more information on protecting businesses and homes from earthquake damage through structural and non-structural mitigation projects, download a free copy of the IBHS guide "Earthquake Risk Around the U.S. - How to Protect Your Property."

Fire season takes early toll in Virginia

The fire season is only weeks old in Virginia, but wildfires have already claimed 45 homes and other structures, fire officials report.

Dry conditions and high winds have fueled 150 blazes that have scorched more than 4,500 acres since igniting Saturday. At one point, 700 homes were in the path of a fire before firefighters gained control of the blaze. Weather conditions have improved today, which should aid in the fire fight.

IBHS offers resources to help home and business owners protect properties against wildfire damage. Download a free copy of the IBHS Wildfire Retrofit Guide: Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Edition, which includes information specifically developed for Virginia properties.

Wildfire is focus of spring work at IBHS Research Center

Engineers at the IBHS Research Center are hard at work creating ember storms to see how homes and businesses can be better constructed and retrofitted to be withstand wildfires.

IBHS researchers are working with experts from the Savannah River National Laboratory, the U.S. Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate to prepare for the first-ever full-scale wildfire simulation. The simulation will be conducted in March at the lab in South Carolina, and it is just the beginning of wildfire research to be conducted there.

During the simulation on March 24, a 1,200 square foot, one-story home will be placed on the turntable in the lab's large test chamber. The home will be subjected to radiant heat and a wind-blown ember shower to demonstrate differences in ignition potential between various construction techniques, building materials, and landscaping materials.

Wildfire is a threat in 38 states. Find out how to protect your home or business with an IBHS wildfire retrofit guide created for your region. Visit www.DisasterSafety.org/wildfire .

Roof collapses prompt calls for inspections to prevent further damage

Roofs collapsed in a number of Massachusetts communities yesterday under the crushing weight of built-up snow and ice, with the worst destruction occurring in Easton, the Boston Globe reports.

On Wednesday, more than 100 workers managed to escape the collapse of a roof at a 150,000-square foot office building in Easton, the newspaper reports. The collapse then triggered a gas leak. The roof collapses around the state have since prompted fire officials to contact local schools and call for inspections to determine structural integrity.

The winter storm has passed, but another round of snow and ice are forecast for next week. Take this opportunity to have the roof cleared on your home or business, urges the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). Check out the guidelines from IBHS to determine how much snow and ice may be too much for the roof to handle. 

Prepare now for the latest round of winter weather

It seems fitting that in a week that includes Groundhog Day, a massive winter storm is once again bearing down on the nation. This time it's the midsection that is bracing for high winds, freezing rain and snow and ice early this week. Later in the week, the northeast will once again be under the threat of severe winter weather. For residents in both regions, their daily weather forecast has been a sort of Groundhog Day since December.

The National Weather Service said the most recent winter storm's "stripe of snow" will move eastward across the central plains and into the Ohio Valley and touch parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

As the storm builds on Monday, though, the band of heaviest snowfall is expected in parts of southwest and northeast Missouri, including central sections of the state, which will receive between six inches and a foot of snowfall and winds between 20 and 30 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Chicago and Milwaukee were expected to be particularly hard-hit. The weather service issued a blizzard watch for Tuesday and Wednesday for southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois and northwest Indiana that included those cities.

Forecasters said snowfall totals could reach up to 2 feet in some areas by the time the storm system has moved through the region.

The weather service said the heavy snowfall combined with high winds could create whiteout conditions, particularly on Tuesday night into Wednesday. Snow drifts of 5 feet to 10 feet are possible. The service said winds on Tuesday could reach up to 60 mph in open areas and near Lake Michigan.

Once the storm has moved through, bitterly cold temperatures are expected to grip much of the region.

After slamming the Plains and Midwest, the storm will move into the Appalachians, Mid-Atlantic, and New England regions early Wednesday morning, Groundhog Day, with conditions improving early Thursday. The heaviest snow is expected across the interior northeast from Pennsylvania into upstate New York and New England.

Find resources to protect your property from ice and snow and to safely use heating equipment at DisasterSafety.org.