Wind and the Built Environment U.S. Needs in Wind Engineering and Hazard Mitigation (1993) / Chapter Skim
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4. Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
4. Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
Pages 79-94
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From page 79... ...
Although a number of different activities may be undertaken, discussion wall be limited to an examination of building code provisions and land-use management. Codes and Code Enforcement The significance of codes and code enforcement is manifested by a recent survey (Manning, 1991)
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From page 80... ...
These results prompted the survey author to recommend that education for inspectors, plan reviewers, and builders is an area in need of immediate attention. These results notwithstanding, the public generally assumes that if a building subject to a building code is issued a permit, is inspected during the venous phases of construction, and is finally issued a certificate of occupancy upon completion, the building must then comply in every respect with the code, including the ability to sustain wind loads.
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From page 81... ...
Many areas of Florida, Texas, and other Gulf states subject to high winds have enforced prescriptive requirements for small buildings that are based on engineering evaluation, but the requirements have not been applied consistently in all areas of concern. Both the Southern Building Code Congress International and the International Conference of Building Officials have efforts under way to resolve the apparent conflicts between their empirical provisions and the results of analytical studies.
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From page 82... ...
Spurred by federal efforts such as the Coastal Zone Management Act and state and local initiatives, mitigation efforts have increased significantly since 1970. However, the adoption and implementation of these measures are still quite uneven.
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From page 83... ...
Emergency Planning and Disaster Management -r - -- r -- Cal In order to understand the status of emergency preparedness and response planning in the United States, it is useful to provide a brief background on the historical development of the field and the characteristics of its current structure. The Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950 established the Federal Civil Defense Administration as a part of the Executive Office of the President.
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From page 84... ...
Second, it indicates that it is very difficult for federal and state agencies to develop planning programs that can be applied uniformly to all communities. The Extensiveness of Local Community Emergency Preparedness To assess the level of emergency preparedness and response planning in the United States, it is necessary to take an "all-hazards approach" to the problem.
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From page 85... ...
Disaster planning is often undertaken by the "social control sector" of the community, which includes such local units as government, police, fire, emergency management, and public works. Further, independent planning is often done by the "medical and social service sector." Hospitals, emergency medical services, and social service agencies develop rather elaborate plans for victim assistance.
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From page 86... ...
Equally important, the National Weather Service has been increasingly concerned with the dissemination of information to the public. A variety of communication linkages, including weather radio, a National Warning System, and the Emergency Broadcasting System, connect the weather service to mass media outlets and emergent y response organizations.
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From page 87... ...
For example, the National Hurricane Center issues specific forecasts about hurricane positions and intensities, but many coastal communities do not subscribe to the NWS information network. The second problem involves the difficulty in making effective use of technical data.
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From page 88... ...
Postimpact Response Activities - -~¢ ~ -- = ~ ~ ~~_ ^~4 Ill ~1~ Valhalla In general, research indicates that, as with planning activities' there has been an improvement in disaster response activities. These include search and rescue; the provision of emergency medical services; the provision of food, shelter, and clothing to victims; and the restoration of lifelines and essential services.
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From page 89... ...
PLANNING FOR RECOVERY AND FUTURE MITIGATION Most of the planning for recovery from disasters has been undertaken at the federal level and is linked to the federal provision of disaster assistance under the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 198S, which FEMA has the primary responsibility for adrniriistrating. Following a presidential declaration of a disaster, a number of assistance programs are implemented, two of which are particularly relevant to future mitigation efforts.
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From page 90... ...
, the nature and implementation of building codes, the nature of the housing stock within the community, the extent and quality of local emergency preparedness planning for disasters, and the effectiveness of local emergency medical provisions.
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From page 91... ...
Increased support is urgently needed. Specific Research Needs Future research should focus upon local adoption and implementation of building code and land-use mitigation measures.
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From page 92... ...
r ~ a_ . -A rip Even though existing building codes contain imperfections and could be unproved through further research, the fact remains that much of the nation's wind damage every year could be prevented if more structures were built in compliance with existing codes.
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From page 93... ...
Civil engineers, architects, emergency response experts, sociologists, epidemiologists, emergency medical specialists, and emergency planners all have important roles to play in this type of study. Simply put, we need to know definitively how people are killed and injured nd-induced disasters, how structural and nonstructural damage interact with human behavior to lessen or increase the risk to life, and how search and rescue and emergency medical action can reduce the number of casualties.
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From page 94... ...
A number of issues are ripe for study. For example, research into integrating emergency preparedness planning with the normal, ongoing professional planning efforts within communities should be encouraged as a step toward eliminating the fragmentation of planning within communities.
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