Floridians can't change geography or Mother Nature, but they can change how homes and buildings are constructed so they can ride out a storm with less damage. That means improving materials and building methods on new structures and retrofitting older ones. Already, Miami-Dade County and Florida have two of the country's most stringent building codes.

Insurers, regulators and lawmakers see wind mitigation as the best way to keep residents safe and home insurance costs affordable. The state has funded a good portion of the research so far because less hurricane damage contributes to Florida's long-term economic health.

EPCOT EXHIBIT

Insurance companies, government agencies and organizations are getting the word out to the masses in a variety of ways. The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, or FLASH, a nonprofit started 10 years ago to build awareness about safety and mitigation for all types of disasters that can hit homeowners, even brought an idea for an exhibit to Walt Disney World.

Late last month Disney's Epcot opened StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes, which lets park visitors experience a hurricane. But the 3-D exhibit is really meant to raise visitors' awareness about the risks they face from hurricanes and what they can do to prevent major damage. It was funded by FLASH and several sponsors -- Renaissance Re, a Bermuda-based reinsurer; State Farm Insurance; and Simpson Strong Tie, a Pleasanton, Calif., company that makes connectors and fasteners.

Homeowners who fortify their homes are rewarded by their insurers. State law requires insurance companies to offer hefty discounts of as much as 65 percent of premium for homes with shutters, impact-resistant windows, reinforced doors and straps or clips to better attach roofs to walls.

THIS IS A TEST

Researchers are testing roof-to-wall connectors, examining how the shape of a roof, dormers and other architectural elements of a house are affected by high winds, and observing how high winds and rain cause windows, doors and roofing materials to fail, letting water inside and causing interior damage.

Already some of the testing has led to different building practices and new products. For instance, an FIU team spent two years testing what seems like a rather ordinary 8-d ring shank nail. Yet the rings along the shaft more than double the resistance of a roof to high winds when used to attach sheathing to roof rafters. Adding just an extra $10 to the cost of building a home, the nails have been required in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties since 2004.

FIU'S LEAD ROLE

FIU is taking a lead role in wind mitigation research. Earlier this year, the school's proposal to expand its mitigation research was No. 1 out of 43 projects submitted by universities to develop a Center of Excellence in Hurricane Damage Mitigation. The top spot came with a $10 million grant from the state.

The university will build a new home for its International Hurricane Research Center to house the four weather laboratories it now contains. It also will include a state-of-the-art wind tunnel for product testing.

FIU will also use its Wall of Wind facility for product testing and whole house research. The facility has been funded in part by Renaissance Re and Applied Insurance Research, a computer catastrophe modeling firm.

Leatherman says about 70 companies, including DuPont and 3M, have contacted the university to test products in its facilities.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@