Update on Gulf Coast Tornadoes
The International Code Council is coordinating with its federal, state, and local partners to help, following the devastating tornadoes that swept across Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. We extend our deepest sympathies to all those affected. The Code Council is committed to supporting our members in any way possible, including the coordination of resources for post-disaster building safety assessments, providing supplemental staffing and addressing any unmet needs. If you are in need of assistance, please reach out to us directly through your regional Government Relations representative.
Severe Weather Update and Resources
The risk for severe weather remains as a few tornadoes and scattered large hail are possible across the Upper Ohio Valley vicinity this afternoon. Otherwise, tornadoes and isolated damaging winds or hail will remain possible across parts of the Midwest and Southeast regions into this evening. For the latest information in your area, we encourage you to visit the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. You can also visit the University of Michigan’s Tornado Page for a look at U.S. tornadoes that have occurred in the past 48 hours.
Tornado Resources
The International Codes (I-Codes) include useful and lifesaving provisions for wind-resistant design and construction of buildings, including the ICC 500 - ICC/National Storm Shelter Association (NSSA) Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters. In February, the Code Council presented a Tornado Awareness and Risk Mitigation webinar with the nation’s leading wind science experts. We also invite you to visit the Code Council’s Tornado and Safety Recovery page for more information.
Disaster Recovery Resources
As an aid to community disaster response, the Code Council and the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) sponsor the Disaster Response Alliance (DRA). The DRA maintains a national database of skilled, trained, and certified building safety professionals who are standing by and ready to assist communities in need. Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial entities may request assistance directly through the DRA website.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a new disaster policy specifically aimed at providing much-needed assistance for code officials and floodplain managers during disaster response and initial recovery for up to 180 days following a major disaster declaration. This policy, administered under FEMA’s Public Assistance program, offers reimbursement for critical community functions such as building code administration, code enforcement, floodplain management administration and enforcement and conducting substantial damage surveys and inspections in affected communities. For more information, visit the Code Council’s Building Code and Floodplain Management Administration and Enforcement resource page or reach out to your regional Government Relations representative.
