August 29, 2025, marks the 20-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes in United States history, resulting in 1,392 fatalities and an estimated $125 billion…
Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation, Resiliency
Remembering Hurricane Katrina 20 Years Later: Lessons Learned and How Louisiana Evolved into a Building Safety Leader
More than 1,000 lives were lost and nearly 500,000 homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, but Louisiana legislators acted promptly to prevent future tragedies by adopting a statewide building code.
2024 International Building Code Tornado Loads and Community-Based Implementation
This article explores how building safety professionals and the public can enhance building resilience against tornado wind loads.
For the first time in U.S. building code history, the 2024 International Building Code® (IBC) includes tornado wind load design criteria for certain defined areas. With respect to life safety,…
Update: FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Funding
This article gives an update on FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Funding and discusses what the International Code Council is doing to help.
In April 2025, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) halted funding for the Building Resilience Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. While the program remains on hold, individual states and members…
