Disaster Safety Blog

Insured damage estimates emerging from Japan's disaster

Property damage from Japan's deadly earthquake and tsunami Friday could top $34 billion, according to initial estimates from AIR Worldwide. It was the most powerful earthquake to hit Japan since records began in the 19th century, and the fifth largest quake anywhere in the world in 110 years.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, some 1,200 buildings were destroyed. AIR has estimated the insured property losses at between $14.6 billion and $34 billion.

Comparisons are being drawn between Friday's quake and the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the Japanese city of Kobe in January 1995. Some 6,500 people died in that disaster, which caused $122 billion in property damage.

The risk of earthquake in the United States is high in many regions. Find solutions to help protect your property with help from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety at www.DisasterSafety.org/earthquake.

Earthquake and tsunami warning serve as reminders of risk

The devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami that have hit Japan are a grim reminder that the U.S. mainland is also susceptible to quakes, according to the Insurance Information Network of California. Regions across the Pacific Rim, including California, remain on tsunami watch this morning.

“The potential cost of earthquakes is growing because of development in seismically active areas and the vulnerability of older buildings which may not have been built or upgraded to current building codes”
.Despite the state’s exposure to seismic risk, few Californians purchase earthquake insurance. Less than 12 percent of the state’s homeowners are estimated to have purchased quake policies, according to IINC.

“The potential cost of earthquakes is growing because of development in seismically active areas and the vulnerability of older buildings which may not have been built or upgraded to current building codes,” said IINC Executive Director Candysse Miller.

Earthquakes are not covered under standard U.S. homeowners or business insurance policies. Earthquake insurance is a supplemental policy to your home or business insurance. In California, homeowners can also secure coverage from the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), a privately funded, publicly managed organization.

Flood damage from a tsunami also would typically be covered under a flood insurance policy rather than a standard homeowner insurance policy. Flood policies are available from the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and some private insurance companies, and can generally be purchased from the same agent or broker who provides your homeowners or renters insurance.

Since 1900, earthquakes have occurred in 39 states and have caused damage in all 50. Just last week, a series of minor quakes rocked the state of Arkansas. There has not been a major quake on the U.S. mainland, however, since the 6.7-magnitude Northridge earthquake in 1994.

The Northridge quake and the 1989 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta quake were the two most costly earthquakes in U.S. history, as defined by insured losses. In 2008 dollars, Northridge caused an estimated $19 billion to $29 billion in insured losses while the Loma Prieta quake resulted in insured losses totaling a little over $12 billion.

For more information, please visit www.iinc.org. IINC is also on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/iinc and on Facebook at http://companies.to/iinc.

Things to know before you go

Whether you're going on vacation for spring break, travel extensively for business or pleasure, have rental property that is unoccupied, or share time between two homes, there are things you can and should do before closing up your house for any real length of time, according to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.

Adjust Thermostat - One of the easiest things to do, but something easily forgotten, is adjusting the thermostat.

    * In colder climates, don't turn the thermostat off. Instead, lower it to a temperature that's warm enough to keep pipes from freezing but low enough that you are not spending money to heat an empty home. (No lower than 55 degrees.)
    * In warmer climates, high temperatures and humidity can damage furniture or other home contents. In this case, set your air conditioner to 85 degrees.

Protect Plumbing - Both plastic (PVC) and copper pipes can burst. Pipes, water heaters and other appliances can leak, or in freezing weather, pipes can freeze and burst, which can cause major damage in a home left unattended.

    * If you are leaving for an extended period of time, the best protection is to have the water shut off and the water lines drained.
          o Seek the advice of a professional plumber, who can shut off the valve at the water meter and send water outdoors and away from the house or into a basement drain. Once this has been done, the plumber should flush all toilets and drain the showerhead pipe.
          o Shut off the gas to the water heater (or the gas company can do this for you), or turn the temperature control to a "vacation" setting. If your house has a water softener, shut off its supply line.
    * If you choose to leave the water service turned on or will be away only a short while:
          o Make sure all pipes are insulated, especially in a garage or basement next to an outside wall or in crawl spaces and the attic. These exposed pipes are most susceptible to freezing.
          o Heat tape can also be used to wrap pipes. Wrap the tape or cables around water pipes, plug in the cord and the heating element will warm the pipes to prevent freezing. Closely follow all manufacturers' installation and operation instructions.
          o Turn off the water supply to individual fixtures like your washing machine, icemaker, toilets and sinks.
            Flooding often occurs when hoses are worn or ruptured, or there is a leak at the connection.
          o Don't leave appliances (dishwasher, washing machine or dryer) running when you leave, and check to make sure toilets aren't running. As an extra precaution, unplug your toaster, coffee maker, microwave oven, computer and television.
          o Make sure the sump pump is working, especially in late winter or early spring when melting snow or heavy rain increases the risk of basement flooding.

Plan for High Wind - If you're going to be away during a season that brings high wind, protect your property:

          o Trim dead limbs from trees and shrubbery and store outdoor furniture and other objects that could become damaging missiles if picked up by high wind.
          o Close and lock all doors, windows, skylights and vents to keep out wind and wind-driven rain.

Make Your House or Business Look Occupied - An empty, unsecured property can be a tempting target for thieves and vandals. 

    * Put interior and exterior lights on timers and/or motion sensors. Set the timers on staggered hours to turn lights on and off at different times.
    * Make sure tapered deadbolt locks all installed and in use on entry doors. The taper makes it almost impossible to use a wrench or other tool to twist the lock open.
    * Suspend mail service and newspaper delivery.
    * Install a monitored security system. (Insurers often provide discounts for devices that make a home safer, so consider the financial benefit.)
    * Inform the local police department that your house will be empty.

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.

Living on shaky ground: Learning from New Zealand's quakes

A 4.7-magnitude earthquake that researchers described as the largest in Arkansas in 35 years was recorded late Sunday night near Greenbrier. It was the latest in a swarm of quakes that has bedeviled the region since early last fall, according to The New York Times. There were no reports of major damage, though some residents spoke of dislodged screen doors and cracked ceilings. Damage or not, some said this was the longest and scariest quake yet, the newspaper reports.

This earthquake swarm in Arkansas should serve as a reminder of the seismic risks facing properties in surrounding states, including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee to name a few. So what can residents living in these areas do to become better prepared? Learning from the recent quakes in New Zealand is a good place to start.

SmartPlanet.com's recent interview wtih Thomas O’Rourke, an engineering professor at Cornell University, focused on the earthquake in New Zealand last month that killed dozens of people and toppled buildings in Christchurch. O'Rourke says this event has implications for future disasters in the United States.

O’Rourke, who lived and worked in Christchurch, explained why an earthquake with a moderate intensity level caused such destruction — and what lessons we should take away from the disaster. 

Here is an excerpt from the interview. Read the full report at SmartPlanet.com.

SmartPlanet.com: Since this was a moderate earthquake, how do you explain the level of damage?

O'Rourke: The New Zealanders are among some of the best seismic engineers in the world. They have one of the oldest codes. It’s certainly as old as the code in the United States for earthquakes. They also have a very up-to-date approach to structural design, disaster preparedness, understanding the effects of earthquakes on their built infrastructure and undertaking measures to ensure as good a performance as possible from their lifeline networks, such as transportation, water supply, electric power, telecommunications. They had a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on Sept. 4, 2010. The epicenter of this earthquake was located about 12 to 15 kilometers to the west of Christchurch. It’s very close and they did sustain significant levels of acceleration and other types of ground motion and they had massive liquefaction during that event. Yet not a single person died.

That reflects more than luck. It reflects many of the codes they had in place for their more modern buildings and the steps they’d taken to ensure that there would be a reliable response from their infrastructure.

The second event [in New Zealand] is really extraordinary in the fact that it was a rupture that occurred underneath the port of Lyttelton and a little north of Lyttelton, very close to the business district of Christchurch. It generated some significant dynamic movements or strong ground motions and it had a very significant impact on the built environment.

The central business district of Christchurch has a lot of unreinforced masonry structures. Many, if not the grand majority, of the unreinforced masonry structures have either collapsed or sustained serious damage.

The type of motion we’re seeing from this small magnitude earthquake, because of its proximity to the central business district, is very similar to the ground shaking one might [see] in earthquakes in the United States. [This is in places] where the infrastructure and ground behavior has certain very similar characteristics to what we see in Christchurch. In 1812, there were three earthquakes in the Mississippi River area. There is historical evidence for soil liquefaction. If you want a good likeness to what would happen if we had a severe earthquake in the New Madrid zone, all you’d have to do is look at the central business district of Christchurch.

We have even a greater concentration of unreinforced masonry structures in places like Memphis and St. Louis that would be vulnerable to this type of event. We know that recent sediments from the Mississippi River are very similar to those of sediments in New Zealand. So when you look at the massive liquefaction in Christchurch, you don’t have to have a lot of imagination to understand what would actually happen in a large and severe Midwestern earthquake.

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.