The Build it Better Leadership Forum held May 15-17 in Charlotte, NC brought together experts to identify and discuss mitigation best practices, public policy efforts, communication success stories and emerging research.
FLASH President and CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson’s panel tackled the important topic – “What Do We Do Now? The Path to Community Resilience.” Margaret Davidson, Acting Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management; David Canaan, Director, Mecklenburg County Storm Water Services and John Plodinec, Ph.D., Associate Director, Resilience Technologies Community and Regional Resilience Institute joined Chapman-Henderson on the panel.
Additional discussions addressed the unforeseen consequences from Hurricane Sandy with on-the-ground experts addressing the complexity of emergency management and rescue efforts along with the compounding effects of wind and water on community infrastructure.
The event featured a keynote address from Wayne Goodwin, North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance and remarks by National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb, PhD. For a full wrap and additional resources including presentations from speakers, visit mitigationleadership.com
Special thanks to John Plodinec and his take on the upbeat and energetic meeting. See a blurb from his blog below and visit John Plodinec’s blog for the rest of his post.
“Thursday and Friday I had the pleasure to attend the Build It Better Leadership Forum in Charlotte. Renaissance Reinsurance, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), and their partners put on a superlative event bringing together nearly all of the stakeholders in what Leslie Chapman-Henderson has dubbed the Mitigation Movement. Presentations (are now available) on mitigationleadership.com, so I’m just going to hit a few highlights and throw in a few gratuitous comments.”
With just days until the start of hurricane season, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)® is offering Mitigation 2.0 — an “upgrade” to traditional family preparedness and home mitigation activities. Mitigation 2.0 combines safety with technology to empower families and streamline activities that strengthen homes and ensure that families are safe.
Simplified, streamlined hurricane preparedness will help ensure that people are ready throughout the season. For example, FLASH has partnered with the country’s premier weather data provider to offer a powerful, easy-to-use smartphone app that will give families the weather and mitigation information they want when they need it without unnecessary over alerting and confusion. That’s the essence of Mitigation 2.0.
“No matter what type of threat a storm inflicts – wind or water – mitigation is an essential component of successful preparedness,” said National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Rick Knabb. “Mitigation 2.0 leverages technology to deliver critical information with speed and ease so more families can prepare.”
Each Mitigation 2.0 resource is aligned with the Hurricane Preparedness Week topic of the day to give families a streamlined path to hurricane readiness.
Monday, May 27: Storm Surge
“Turn Around, Don’t Drown.” Learn why with this safety animation.
Dry or wet flood proof your home to either prevent floodwaters from entering or allow them to flow through unused parts of your home with this animation.
Elevate appliances like the furnace, HVAC and washer/dryer 12” above the base flood elevation.
Why you should purchase flood insurance as typical homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage.
As nearly uninterrupted severe weather threats continue following tornado destruction last week through today, the nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) is highlighting critical actions that will help families and homes survive when tornadoes or severe storms strike.
• The ultimate life safety protection is a tornado safe room. Tested and certified tornado safe rooms protect families from winds and windborne debris up to 250 mph. The rooms can be built or retrofitted into closets or bathrooms inside the home or placed outside in a garage or shed. Additionally, a range of pre-fabricated safe room options can be purchased and installed inside or outside the home. From affordable egg-shaped bunkers to above-ground rooms made from concrete, panelized steel or Kevlar, families now have many ways to survive even the strongest tornadoes.
“Tornado safe rooms save lives, even when EF4 or EF5 tornadoes strike,” said FLASH President and CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson. “Some of the families who survived the Texas and Oklahoma tornado outbreaks have proved that yet again, and we want all families in harm’s way to know and understand their life-saving potential.”
A tested and certified safe room can add to a home’s value as well. According to a 2007 study by Professor Kevin Simmons, an economist with Austin College, sales prices increased 3.5 percent on average for homes with a safe room, or approximately $4,200.
Tornado safe room information, including a cost calculator, structural details and resource links are available at www.flash.org.
• For less than half the cost of a traditional NOAA weather radio, new life-saving smartphone apps provide severe weather alerts that are faster, cheaper and more portable. Families need to know right away when they are under a tornado watch or warning, especially at night. The new FLASH Weather Alerts app reliably delivers GPS, precision text-to-speech weather hazard warnings on more than 100 options from tornado to flood to wildfire and more.
“Often, surviving a deadly tornado comes down to a matter of seconds,” said Chapman-Henderson. “We are proud to partner with the country’s premier weather data provider to offer this powerful, easy-to-use app that combines new technology with real-time severe weather information. The audible warning feature gives families the advantage of every available second to take shelter. This is especially urgent at night because nocturnal tornadoes are historically the deadliest.”
During 2013 tornado events, the FLASH Weather Alerts app provided severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service nearly 20 minutes earlier than similar apps. FLASH Weather Alerts is now available from the Apple AppStore and Google Play store for $7.99 — less than the average $25.00 price of a traditional weather radio. Visit www.flashweatheralerts.org for more information.
• Most tornado damage occurs below EF4/EF5 level, so minor investments in enhanced building or rebuilding techniques can make a major improvement in a home’s resistance to tornado forces. The National Climatic Data Center estimates that 77 percent of U.S. tornadoes are in the EF0 to EF1 range and 95 percent have wind speeds less than EF3 intensity. A recent cost study revealed that using an average of $0.50 per square foot or $1,000 in metal connectors installed from a home’s roof to its foundation can upgrade a home’s ability to withstand wind uplift from an EF0 to an EF2 tornado.
Additionally, homes built to more modern, model codes will have the advantage of enhanced connector methods using nailing. For example, the 2009 International Residential Code requires only two toe-nailed connections on the rafter to top plate compared to the 2012 International Residential Code which requires a minimum of a third toe-nailed connection. The cost of using the third nail is less than $100 for an entire roof, but the increased uplift strength grows by 50 percent.
“Many will be surprised to learn that homes can be built to withstand damage from EF0 to EF2 tornadoes which historically cause most of the damage,” said Chapman-Henderson. “A modest investment of a handful of additional nails or metal connectors can strengthen homes and protect families from needless injuries, death and property damage from tornadoes. We believe this makes a clear case for prompt and continuous adoption and enforcement of model building codes.”
“Tornado safe rooms, enhanced weather alerting technology and better building practices mean that we no longer need to be at the mercy of tornadoes,” said Chapman-Henderson. “This is an important message as the nation witnesses the devastation of this past week, the massive tornado now ravaging the Oklahoma City metro area and the expected severe weather ahead.”
FLASH Unveils New Mitigation and Preparedness Smartphone App at 2013 National Hurricane Conference
App provides peril-based mitigation and preparedness tools and weather forecasting functions with the added value of NOAA weather radio technology.
As the National Hurricane Conference kicks off in New Orleans today; FLASH released “FLASH Weather Alerts” the first-ever precision, severe weather alert smartphone app that includes home mitigation and family preparedness information, videos and consumer support in English and Spanish. The app combines bilingual preparedness and mitigation content with the powerful performance of a GPS, precision text – to – speech severe weather warnings. Users can choose only one, or up to 100 alert options from flood, hurricane and tornado to wildfire and more.
Weather Features of FLASH Weather Alerts:
Local weather forecasts for seven days including hourly updates with temperature, precipitation and humidity
Severe weather alerts for up to six saved locations in the United States
Location-based alerting using smartphone GPS and local cellular towers to pinpoint locations making alerts more precise, reducing false alerts
Built in radar maps with animation, watch/warning boxes and hurricane cone of probability provide additional information for alerted users
Exclusive live video streaming from the National Hurricane Center and local television affiliates (where available) providing connectivity if cable, satellite or local TV is unavailable.
Devices automatically wake up when alerts are issued and text to speech feature speaks the alert to the user (preserves safety while driving)
Customizable alerts with more than 100 severe weather hazards including:
Floods and flash flood
Hurricane watches and warnings
Lightning (coming soon)
Marine advisories
Severe thunderstorm
Tornado
Wildfires
Winter weather alerts and more
Mitigation and Preparedness Features of FLASH Weather Alerts:
Mitigation resources put information to make homes stronger and families safer in the palm of the user’s hand – in English and Spanish
Follow disaster safety discussions on FLASH Facebook and Twitter
“Current News” feed provides event-driven preparedness/mitigation tips as severe events unfold
Season-specific mitigation/preparedness information reaches users when they need it most
All app features are included in the one-time price of $7.99 and will not require any additional in app purchases. FLASH Weather Alerts is now available from the Apple AppStore and Google Play store for a reduced cost of $4.99 through Friday, March 29, 2013.
Power outages are a particular risk during extreme winter weather. Ice storms and blizzards often result in power outages that can last for several days. When it is cold outside and it is too dangerous to travel away from your home, it becomes increasingly important to make sure that you have heat inside. An automatic standby generator can keep key systems running to protect your home and your family. Enter now for your chance to win a Kohler automatic standby generator for your home!
Guest column: Upgraded Seismic Code Puts Safety First
By Leslie Chapman-Henderson, Special to The Commercial Appeal
Like it or not, Tennessee is earthquake country. After the West Coast, it is the region in the United States most at risk from earthquakes. An overwhelming majority of earthquake scientists, structural engineers and building code experts agree that the earthquake threat to the central United States is very real.
For that reason, we are deeply disappointed that the Shelby County Commission has delayed the implementation of seismic building code provisions. We are equally concerned that the Memphis City Council will follow suit. Read the full article in the Commercial Appeal
As “Black Friday” approaches, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)® suggests that this year, especially in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy, families consider shopping for gifts of winter safety.
According to FLASH, there’s no better gift than one that offers your loved ones safety and protection and even has the potential to save their lives. For that reason FLASH, the country’s leading consumer advocate for strengthening homes and safeguarding families from natural and manmade disasters, developed a comprehensive list of winter-weather preparedness gift-giving ideas that can protect friends’ and families’ homes and ensure their safety.
Severe weather like Sandy has redefined this year’s must-have gift list. Traditional gifts and gadgets are taking a backseat to products like weather radios, power generators and simple things like hand-crank cell phone chargers.
Consider the following winter weather-smart gift ideas in the areas of Comfort and Security and Home Mitigation:
Comfort & Security
AM/FM radios w/extra batteries
Automobile power inverters
Blankets
Carbon monoxide detectors
First-aid kits
Hand-crank powered appliances such as cell phone chargers, power supplies, radios and weather radio
Solar-powered backpack to charge laptops, tablets, music players and other portable devices
Home Mitigation
Attic insulation
Insulated doors
Storm doors
Portable generators
Standby generators
Gift certificates for professional home inspections
Gift certificates for professional winterization services
Insulation for hose bibs, exposed plumbing, pool equipment
Weather stripping
Replacement windows
For a complete list of tips on how to stay safe and comfortable during power outages, click here. For comprehensive disaster safety and home mitigation information on weather of all kinds, visit www.flash.org. And to enter the 2012 Great Hurricane Blowout Kohler/FLASH standby generator contest, visit www.greathurricaneblowout.org before November 30.
