When it comes to a simple, low-impact way to reduce flood damage (and subsequent payouts under the National Flood Insurance Program), incorporating international building codes into floodplain management criteria could provide a lot of bang for the buck.
That’s the conclusion drawn by a recent Federal Emergency Management Agency report and seconded by industry experts. The report looked at the feasibility and effectiveness of mandating the codes and determined that most communities could lower flood losses and insurance rates with little effort. Congress will ultimately decide whether to mandate the codes or not.
About 70 percent of communities now participating in the NFIP already stand by the codes, according to the report. For those that don’t, the long-term benefits would offset the relatively small investment involved in requiring them.
“Including widely used building codes in the NFIP would have an overall positive effect in reducing losses and creating improved regulatory and use practices,” the report stated.
Better protection for critical facilities, more stringent enforcement options, and better land use practices are among the improvements to be gained by requiring the codes. There could be an initial negative impact on land values and additional costs incurred by some homeowners, but over time that would become negligible, the report found.
Industry experts—many of whom have long bemoaned floodplain building, improper elevation, and the lack of statewide building codes—championed the report findings.
“We know that communities with strong, well enforced building codes fare better than those with weak or no codes when disasters strike,” said Julie Rochman, president of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, in a statement. “Property damage is reduced, home and business owners are able to recover faster, the local economy and tax base are maintained, and the amount of government disaster aid is decreased in communities that have adopted and enforced strong codes before catastrophes strike.”
Jolie Breeden is the lead editor and science communicator for Natural Hazards Center publications. She writes and edits for Research Counts; the Quick Response, Mitigation Matters, Public Health, and Weather Ready Research Award report series; as well as for special projects and publications. Breeden graduated summa cum laude from the University of Colorado Boulder with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.