FEMA recognizes the valuable role of building codes

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is charged with preparing the United States for hazards of all types and manages federal response and recovery efforts following national incidents. The agency has recognized the valuable role of building codes in reducing the impacts of disasters.

At a national level, FEMA is leading efforts to leverage codes in assuring federal dollars are used effectively. The Mitigation Framework Leadership Group, chaired by FEMA, released the National Mitigation Investment Strategy (NMIS), a unified national strategy on mitigation investment that reduces risks posed by natural hazards and increases the nation’s resilience to disasters. The strategy makes recommendations concerning the use, enforcement and adoption of building codes, including stating that “[a]rchitects, engineers, builders and regulators should use the latest building codes for the most up-to-date requirements for structural integrity, mechanical integrity, fire prevention and energy conservation.” The NMIS devotes a section to encouraging communities to adopt and enforce up-to-date building codes.

The FEMA-administered Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program provides pre-disaster mitigation grants to states with funds available to support building code adoption and implementation. The agency also considers applicants’ adopted codes and code implementation in its evaluation of brick-and-mortar mitigation project proposals.

When it comes to post-disaster rebuilding, FEMA requires all reconstruction using public assistance funds to be built to the latest codes.

FEMA is also working with state and local governments to capture significant benefits provided by up-to-date codes. In a recent study of the losses avoided by the adoption of codes, FEMA found that currently 65 percent of counties, cities and towns across the U.S. have not adopted modern hazard-resistant building codes; only 50 percent of cumulative post-2000 construction adhered to the International Codes; and 30 percent of new construction is occurring in communities with no codes at all or codes that are outdated more than 20 years.

The study further found:

• The International Residential Code and International Building Code provided more than $27 billion in cumulative mitigation benefits against flood, hurricane wind and earthquake hazards from 2000 to 2016. These benefits could have been doubled if all post-2000 construction adhered to the International Codes.
• If construction continues at the pace the study observed and if the proportion of that construction adhering to the International Codes is consistent with the trend the study identifies, the International Codes could help communities avoid $132 billion to $171 billion in cumulative losses through 2040.
• If all new buildings across the U.S. were built to modern editions of the International Codes, the country would save more than $600 billion by 2060.

In light of the highly cost-effective role of building codes, FEMA is filling positions across the country to coordinate and prioritize activities to advance the adoption and enforcement of hazard-resistant building codes and standards for FEMA programs and communities nationwide. The positions will provide outreach, coordination and building code expertise to advance building codes throughout the region. Specific position announcements will be issued by the FEMA regional offices over the next few months and posted on usajobs.gov.