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Wind Mitigation Booklet FLORIDA’S FOUNDATION Make Mitigation Happen Mitigating your home could translate to savings and peace of mind. What Why Load Path Protect Openings Florida Law and Preparedness What is wind Every year Floridians A continuous load path Insurance Discount Checklist mitigation? Wind face damage to their and roofing protections Notification Form Protecting your home mitigation includes homes as a result of are the key components Florida Statute 627.711 from high winds is a specific activities to high winds. of protecting the Notice of premium part of being prepared. strengthen your home. Page 3 structural integrity of discounts for hurricane Have a plan. Use this This booklet will review your home during a loss mitigation; checklist to help you what can be done to storm. Learn a variety uniform mitigation prepare for disasters. strengthen your home. of activities that can Protecting openings by verification inspection Page 19 Page 2 help strengthen your shuttering or replacing form. home. with high-standard Page 13 Page 5 products. Page 10 Letter from Hurricane Mitigation This guide provides insight into proven, researched activities that Director directly improve your ability to recover from a hurricane. Please Bryan Koon take time to review the activities, properly mitigate your home Prior to joining Florida’s Division of against damage caused by high Emergency Management Director winds and join the effort Koon served as the Director for booklet are meant to engage you throughout Florida to survive the Walmart’s Emergency Management in actively preparing your home next hurricane. for future hurricanes. It is a matter Department and worked at the White Together we can demonstrate that House Military Office for seven years. of time before the next major hurricane impacts Florida. investing in the homes of our Director Koon also served as a surface citizens can improve Florida’s warfare officer in the US Navy. Will your home, your family and recovery from future disasters. Florida has been fortunate to you be ready to survive and recover from the next major Take the time to Get A Plan! and avoid major catastrophic damage prepare your home. over the last few hurricane hurricane to impact your seasons. While many become community? - Bryan Koon complacent, this training and Florida’s Foundation, Make Mitigation Happen 1 FLORIDA’S FOUNDATION WHAT IS WIND MITIGATION? Shutters can be seen, so they are the first things most people think of when protecting their home against high winds. But shuttering windows is only one of the recommended activities. It’s what you can’t see that can make a big difference. Mitigation is defined as a noun Obtaining an inspection generally But what is wind mitigation? that is the lessening of the force or costs, but is well worth the What actions or changes intensity of something investment to fully mitigate your constitutes mitigating your home? unpleasant. Wind mitigation home. Activities to mitigate your The primary damages from specifically targets the structural home are research based hurricanes are wind and water and nonstructural aspects that recommendations. intrusion1. Water, as rain directed prevent or lessen damage caused Multiple organizations including by varying wind directions, enters by high winds that occur with the Florida Department of homes through gable ends, soffit storms. Financial Services, Florida vents and poorly sealed windows In Florida, our primary concern is Division of Emergency and doors. Once rain enters the wind damage caused by Management, Florida’s homes mildew can develop hurricanes. Hurricane season Foundation, Florida Alliance for within days. Like water, wind begins June 1 and ends November Safe Homes, and the Insurance causes damage by entering the 30. That means for five of twelve Institute for Business and Home home through poorly sealed months of every year, Floridians Safety all endorse the same openings. Wind damages homes are at risk for exposure to high research based recommendations by increasing pressure and winds. Also, it is not unusual to and provide resources to inform causing uplift forces on the roof. have a hurricane or tropical storm and assist homeowners. See more 1 Summary Report on Building Performance outside of hurricane season. information in the Disaster 2004 Hurricane Season Preparedness Organizations The first step is to have an FEMA 490 / March 2005 section. inspection of your home. 2 Florida’s Foundation, Make Mitigation Happen FLORIDA’S FOUNDATION WHY MITIGATE? Safety You evacuate to a shelter and then FEMA’s Federal Insurance and come home - from here let’s Mitigation Administration Too often people wonder why imagine two different scenarios. participated in a study that damage occurred after a disaster. Scenario A - A large piece of the estimated the value of all Wind mitigation is meant to avoid roof to your home is missing, there mitigation activities funded a hazard by reducing the amount is significant water damage to between mid-1993 through of damage to your home and three rooms of your house and mid-2007. This study included reducing the amount of debris that four windows are shattered. mitigation of floods, hurricanes may result in damage to other Clearly this is not a safe and earthquakes. The study homes and speed environment and mold will grow concluded a value of $4 saved in cleanup efforts. within days. response and recovery for every $1 The steps to spent on mitigation. mitigating your Scenario B - There is minimal home that follow damage to your roof due to a tree The Florida Department of in this manual leaning on your home. There is Finance states that 15% - 70% of are research-based activities that minor water damage in your your insurance premium could be will help minimize the damage to living room and is manageable by attributed to wind-damage risk. your home. Ideally in the event of placing a tarp on your roof. You For the majority of homeowners, a disaster, your home will be are back in your home after one their home is their largest asset, waiting when you return. night in a shelter. the primary source of shelter and The arm bands of hurricanes often Which scenario would you prefer? holds unlimited sentimental value. spawn tornados or generate gusts Truly the value of the mitigation of wind so strong that objects, Economic will only be seen if impacted by a trees and other debris can cause 627.711 F.S. requires hurricane. Strengthening your extensive damage regardless of insurance companies to home against high winds will your mitigation efforts. hopefully prevent any catastrophic notify homeowners of damage to your home in the event premium discounts for of a hurricane. hurricane loss mitigation and establishes a uniform By protecting your greatest asset mitigation verification inspection you will minimize the expense of form. recovery and speed the time it takes to recover from a natural If your home has undergone a disaster. wind inspection you are potentially eligible for insurance Recovery discounts or credits. No amount of strengthening Community recovery from a disaster Beyond insurance savings - the of your home should ever doesn’t take one or two years. It can value of your home increases and cause you to disregard take five years before a community there are cost savings when a disaster occurs. These savings are evacuation orders. recovers jobs, housing and revenue lost from a disaster. dependent on many different variables and cannot be predicted. Florida’s Foundation, Make Mitigation Happen 3 FLORIDA’S FOUNDATION Types of Mitigation Shutters can be seen, so they are the first things most people think of when protecting their home against high winds. But shuttering windows is only one of the recommended activities. It’s what you can’t see that can make a big difference. Water Barriers Anchoring, Roof-to-Wall Gable Ends Window Openings Doorways Providing a sealed Reinforce your Gables that are There are many Doors, including roof deck will foundation-to-wall, taller than 4 feet options for window garage doors, are prevent significant floor-floor will benefit from openings. best replaced with a water intrusion if (multistory homes) reinforcing the Shatterproof glass hurricane-rated pieces of your roof and wall-to-roof framing and windows are door. coverings (shingles) connections to bracing the top and expensive, but For existing garage are blown away. establish a bottom of the gable. eliminate the need doors additional This also provides continuous load Generally, a to shutter before a bracing can be additional path. A continuous licensed storm. applied. Hurricane- insulation to make load path allows professional Clear, lightweight, rated garage doors your home more your home to resist engineer is best to cloth, electric and are heavier and energy efficient. high-wind forces as design a gable end roll-down shutters often in a storm a unit. Weak links bracing system Don’t forget your exist to assist power is lost, so in a load path are appropriate for soffit vents! persons with electric openers generally where your specific varying disabilities. won’t work. damage occurs. location and home construction. 4 Florida’s Foundation, Make Mitigation Happen FLORIDA’S FOUNDATION The following specifications apply to the 2007 Florida Building Code. Once the 2010 Florida Building Code becomes effective specifications will vary. Water Barriers Water can devastate a home by direct damage and by fostering the growth of mold and mildew. The best mitigation is to prevent water from entering your home. 8d ring shank nail with minimum 1-inch diameter caps. Metal caps are recommended where wind speeds may exceed 140 mpg. !! !! grooves / rings Establishing a water barrier is spacing in high-wind areas. Once cost-effective when replacing your the integrity of the roof deck is roof. At that time it is easiest to confirmed you can seal the deck.
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