Disaster Safety Blog

Tornado damage estimates emerge from Midwest storms

Damage estimates are coming in from several tornadoes that tore through parts of the Midwest during the New Year's weekend and killed seven people.

In St. Louis County, Mo., a total of 198 residential and commercial structures were damaged in Friday's storms. In metro St. Louis, a total of 32 residential and commercial buildings were damaged. Of those damaged, 12 were severe, including three buildings that collapsed. The twisters killed four people in Missouri and destroyed at least 50 homes and damaged 280 in other parts of the state.

In Mississippi, a total of 34 homes, five mobile homes, 40 businesses and 20 agricultural buildings have been destroyed or suffered major damage. Minor damage has been reported to 149 structures.

In Illinois, nearly two dozen homes were destroyed in the central part of the state.

In Arkansas, the tornadoes killed three and damaged 27 homes and six businesses.

When rebuilding or repairing roof damage, the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) recommends strengthening the connections between the roof and walls, adding a secondary water barrier to keep out rain if the roof covering is lost in a future storm, and choosing a high-wind rated roof covering. For more information, visit www.DisasterSafety.org.

Internet tools give residents an immediate forum post-disasters

Internet tools are making it easier than ever for people to share real-time information about how they were affected by such disasters as earthquakes, tornadoes and wildfires.

The most recent example comes from the 3.8 magnitude earthquake that rattled north central Indiana on Dec. 30. While this wasn't a catastrophic event, it was an example of how technology can help identify the hardest hit areas.

Nearly 10,000 residents in 1,166 ZIP codes used an online reporting tool to alert the U.S. Geological Survey of how severe the shaking was in their respective Indiana neighborhoods. Fortunately, the majority of reports were of weak to light shaking, according to the USGS.

The earthquake was centered just east of Kokomo, Ind., about 57 miles north of Indianapolis. It occurred about 3 miles underground and could be felt as far south as Indianapolis, as far east as Dayton, Ohio and as far northwest as Elgin, Ill., about 40 miles outside Chicago.

Calling the earthquake “extremely rare and unprecedented,” John Steinmetz, director of the Indiana Geological Survey at Indiana University in Bloomington, told the Christian Science Monitor there have not been any earthquakes of similar magnitude in northern Indiana in 175 years. Mr. Steinmetz added that it demonstrates how little is known about the earth’s structure in that region of the country.

Seismologists do not think the Dec. 30 earthquake involved the nearby Wabash Valley Fault line, but said it may be connected to the Sharpsville Fault Line, located just north of Indianapolis.

Whether the earthquake was an isolated event or an indicator of a fault zone becoming active, "we can’t say we know that for sure simply because we don’t know how deep the faults are,” Steinmetz says. One of the reasons why so little is known is the lack of adequate equipment; primarily sophisticated seismic recording instruments.

One of the nation’s most dangerous fault zones lies in the Midwest. The New Madrid fault line, named after the small town in southeast Missouri and covering areas of Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi, was responsible for several earthquakes in the early 19th century. Although several minor quakes have occurred along the New Madrid fault over the years, the last major disruption was in the 1811-1812 winter when a succession of four earthquakes over three months famously caused the Mississippi River to temporarily flow backward and had aftershocks travel as far as Boston and Toronto.

In 2008, the Federal Emergency Management Agency reported that because earthquake preparedness is relatively minimal compared with California and the Pacific Northwest, another quake of that magnitude could cause “the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States.” In recognition of this year's bicentennial of the New Madrid Earthquake, the Institute for Business & Home Safety is partnering with a number of organizations to promote greater awareness of the affordable things residents can do to prepare for an earthquake.

Although it doesn't appear any major damage resulted from the recent earthquake, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security is encouraging residents to check their homes and businesses for any visible damage. When inspecting the property, look for any new or widened cracks in floors, masonry or walls and also check to be sure utility lines and boxes have not been damaged.

Recovery begins in California, other states brace for more rough weather

Californians are getting a reprieve today after devastating rainstorms that spawned flash floods and mudslides in the southern part of the state Wednesday, but northern California and surrounding states are still bracing for more rain and snow.

The National Weather Service reports flood watches and warnings remain in effect in western Arizona, southern Nevada and southwestern Utah until early Friday morning. Mudslides remain a threat because of the rain-soaked ground.

An additional one to two inches of rain, with more in some areas, were expected through Friday morning as the system moved toward the Rockies, the National Weather Service said. Snowfall in some mountain areas topped 13 feet, while rain levels also reached new heights. Crestline, Calif., has received 26 inches of rain since Friday, while Santa Barbara received 14 inches and Lake Arrowhead got 12 inches.

As many as 40 homes in the San Bernardino County community of Highland were damaged by mud and water after two small rivers in the foothill town overflowed, according to the California Department of Forestry.

Officials in Littlefield, Ariz., say at least five vacant homes have been swept away by flooding in the northwestern part of the state since a powerful storm system arrived and more are in danger.

Insurers are busy responding to property damage claims, the Claims Journal reports. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company and Farmers Insurance, both members of the Instititue for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), reported receiving a combined total of more than 3,000 claims Wednesday.

The IBHS Water Damage Recovery Guide can help home and business owners during the recovery process. Other IBHS recovery resources include "You Can Go Home Again" and "Getting Back to Business." All of the resources are free at www.DisasterSafety.org.

Natural disasters cost reinsurers $20 billion in 2010, report says

Earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand topped the list of costliest disasters for reinsurers in 2010, according to a new report.

The new report by Guy Carpenter & Company, an affiliate member of the Institute for Business & Home Safety, found the reinsurance industry paid $8 billion in losses associated with the Chilean earthquake, while the New Zealand earthquake carried a price tag of $4 billion in insured damage.

Of the eight natural catastrophes that individually caused insured losses of more than $1 billion, five were related to severe weather and storms in the United States, Australia and Europe, for a total loss of $7.9 billion, according to the report. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico was the only man-made event to result in insured losses of $1 billion or more in 2010 at approximately $3.5 billion.

Guy Carpenter also reports that reinsurance losses in the United States generally matched those of 2009, totalling $11.2 billion in the first nine months of 2010. This was a decline from the $25.2 billion paid by reinsurers in 2008, due mostly to losses from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Limiting exposures to natural disasters such as hail, high winds, hurricanes, wind-driven water and wildfire is the goal of the new IBHS Research Center, of which Guy Carpenter is a founding member. Learn more about this unique, world-class facility.

Maintain sump pumps to prevent damage

If heavy rains are expected, inspect sump pumps to make sure they are operating, says the Institute for Business & Home Safety. Maintenance now could go a long way toward preventing property damage if water gets inside your house or commercial operation.

Here are IBHS guidelines to help ensure proper sump pump operation:

Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for sump pump maintenance. These vary from running the sump pump every two to three months to a yearly cleaning before the rainy season.

• To inspect the sump pump:  
  • Open the lid and remove debris that may be blocking the water inlet screen.  
  • Pour approximately five gallons of water into the pump and watch the float valve rise.
  • As the float valve rises, the pump should turn on and the water should discharge through the outlet pipe.
  • Go outside and inspect the outlet pipe. Water should be flowing from the pipe and away from the building.  
  • If the sump pump fails to operate during this inspection, contact a plumbing professional.
  • Install a battery backup system. 
  • When buying a new pump, choose a system with a battery replacement warning.
  • Replace batteries every two to three years.

For more property protection information from IBHS, visit www.DisasterSafety.org.

A New Year's Resolution: Better Building Codes and Better Construction

The saying “don’t fool with Mother Nature” never rang truer than in 2010, says the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).

According to the article “2010's world gone wild: Quakes, floods, blizzards” on Bloomberg.com “earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, blizzards, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter million people in 2010 — the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.”

Despite sophisticated weather tracking tools, predicting when a natural disaster will hit remains an imperfect science.  We can track hurricanes as they develop, but predicting the exact path and point of landfall is not foolproof. We can map seismic zones and specific fault lines, but we cannot say for certain when and where an earthquake will strike.  Nor can we pinpoint the exact time or severity of a volcanic eruption. 

What we can do, however, is prepare, says IBHS.  We know how to strengthen homes and businesses against Mother Nature, yet we have been too slow to adopt building and land use standards and methods that will reduce the loss of life and property damage that follow a natural disaster.

We saw a terrible, stark demonstration of the difference that better building codes makes during 2010 as the damages from earthquakes in Haiti and Chile were totaled. In Haiti, 220,000 people were killed; most of the population lived in poorly built structures.  In contrast, the February earthquake in Chile – which was more than 500 times stronger than the one that struck Haiti – resulted in fewer than 1,000 deaths.  The difference?  Better codes and better construction.

Roger Bilham, a professor of geological sciences at the University of Colorado, summed it up best in the article on Bloomberg.com when he stated, “It's a form of suicide, isn't it? We build houses that kill ourselves (in earthquakes). We build houses in flood zones that drown ourselves. It's our fault for not anticipating these things. You know, this is the Earth doing its thing."

Now is the time to do our thing.  Now is the time to adopt proven measures to make buildings more resilient to natural disasters, says IBHS.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. So, that means that we are experiencing a type of collective insanity when we build and rebuild in the same vulnerable places in the same vulnerable ways, knowing that Mother Nature will repeat what she metes out. We must take a saner, safer approach and build better, either the first time, as we retrofit existing structures, or when we rebuild after a structure is destroyed or damaged by a natural disaster. Let’s do better in 2011. Let’s make a New Year’s resolution to become more vocal, more active voices for property loss mitigation. Many, many lives, homes, businesses and entire communities hang in the balance.

Visit DisasterSafety.org for information on how to incorporate disaster-resilient features into you new construction or retrofit project.

Check this "To Do" List Before Leaving for the Holidays

Many homes and businesses will be left unoccupied during the holiday break. Whether you travel extensively for business or pleasure, have rental property that is unoccupied, or share time between two homes: before closing up your house for any real length of time, take the necessary steps to keep it safe and protected.

 

Here are some things you should do now to reduce the risk of returning to find property damage, according to the 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.
  • 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.
  • 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:
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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:
  • 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.
  • Close and lock all doors, windows, skylights and vents to keep out wind and wind-driven rain.

Make Your House Look Lived In

An empty, unsecured house can be a tempting target for thieves and vandals. Make your house appear occupied:

• 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.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Disaster-related insured losses continued climbing trend in 2010

Year end figures for insured catastrophe losses worldwide are emerging from leading firms, most recently including Aon Benfield and Swiss Re, which agree disaster-related losses are on the rise.

Aon Benfield, an affiliate member of the Institute for Business & Home Safety, reports in its "Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report" that "global natural catastrophic activity was far higher than in the previous three years, with 314 separate events." The report tallies overall economic losses at $252 billion and insured losses at $38 billion. This is an increase from 2009, when there were 222 events that resulted in $58 billion in economic losses and $20 billion insured losses.

Aon Benfield's tally is a slight increase from one recently released by Swiss Re, which put total economic losses at $222 billion and insured losses at $36 billion.

Regardless of the dollar figure, there is little doubt the costliest disaster of 2010 for insurers was the earthquake in Chile, which resulted in insured losses of $8.5 billion. In terms of economic losses, flooding in Pakistan topped the 2010 list of events with a price tag of more than $30 billion.

One effective way to reduce disaster-related insured and economic losses is to take a communitywide approach to mitigation. Through the new IBHS Research Center and its other options, IBHS is working to develop cost-effective retrofit options for existing properties, new construction solutions and to push for the adoption and enforcement of strong, modern building codes. These types of codes were credited for reducing insured losses in Chile, which adopted modern codes to reduce earthquake damage. Read more about IBHS public policy efforts.

Easy ways to prevent property damage this winter

The wintry mix that is blanketing states from the Deep South to the upper Plains today is putting properties to the test.

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings and advisories for more than a dozen states today. The brunt of the system is poised to hit Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia, but several inches of snow are forecast for portions of Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and North Carolina, as well as Minnesota and North and South Dakota.

Stay alert for the possibility of ice dams forming on the roof. This can lead to leaks that will soak insulation and could collapse ceilings if left unattended, warns the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).

Continue monitoring pipes to avoid freezing. Learn easy ways to avoid frozen pipes with help from IBHS.

Hire a professional to clear the roof of accumulated snow when conditions ease. Freezing rain can add to the weight of snow on a roof and could cause it to collapse if allowed to build up beyond the roof's capacity.

Find more ways to reduce the risk of winter-related property damage at www.DisasterSafety.org. 

Strengthen the roof when repairing storm damage in Oregon

At least 50 homes and businesses were damaged by the EF-2 tornado that struck Aumsville, Ore., on Tuesday, the National Weather Service reports.

The twister packed winds of 110 mph to 120 mph, the weather service reports. There were 79 reports of damage along the twister's path. Property loss estimates haven't been released, but cleanup began in earnest Wednesday.

"It was a pretty little powerful tornado, and only the fourth EF2 tornado we've ever documented in Oregon," said Tyree Wilde, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Portland. "That puts it in the top tier of tornadoes for Oregon and Washington."

When repairing roof damage, the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) recommends strengthening the roof by renailing the decking using 8d ring shank nails, adding a secondary water barrier to keep water out during future storms and choosing high-wind rated roof coverings. Find out more ways to keep your property safe from storm damage with help from IBHS.