Gulf Coast Construction Deemed ‘Woefully Inadequate’ for Storm Surge

Government minimum flood elevation requirements for properties vulnerable to storm surge throughout the Gulf Coast region are “woefully inadequate,” according to a new study of property damage caused by Hurricane Ike, which struck the Bolivar Peninsula near Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2008.

The study reveals that significantly more Gulf Coast homes and businesses are imperiled by disastrous flooding from storm surge than previously recognized by property owners or policymakers.

The authors say the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) should do a better job of encouraging building at higher elevations. The NFIP, which provides flood insurance to homes and businesses, establishes base flood elevation (BFE) levels for properties.

The report, “Hurricane Ike: Nature’s Force vs. Structural Strength,” was issued by the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), a not-for-profit research organization supported by property insurers and reinsurers.

“Simply put, the study found that many properties are not built high enough to withstand storm surges, tightly enough to prevent water from causing interior damage or strongly enough to prevent damage when high winds strike,” said IBHS President and CEO Julie Rochman.

IBHS questions the current basis for elevating properties along the Gulf Coast and urges the NFIP to provide greater incentives for building well above current minimum elevations. According to the study, more than 50 percent of the nation’s population lives within 50 miles of the coast. More than $9 trillion of insured coastal property is vulnerable to hurricanes.

The BFE requirement for homes on Texas’ Bolivar Peninsula ranged between 13 feet for homes built in the 1970s, and 17 feet to 19 feet for homes built beginning in 1983. All but a handful of properties within the first few rows of houses from the coast, built to even the highest elevation requirements, were washed away by Ike. By contrast, the study found that 10 homes on the Bolivar Peninsula designed and built under IBHS’s building code-plus new construction program, “Fortifiedfor safer living,” survived the storm sustaining minor damage. The Fortified homes had outdoor decks at 18 feet that were destroyed, but the homes, which were elevated to 26 feet, survived.

The IBHS study provides a detailed, real world performance evaluation of superior construction techniques when tested by a truly extreme weather event. It also includes a retrofit guide for Texans in coastal areas to use. The guide takes into account the current Texas building code requirements and outlines specific retrofit options that homeowners and residents can use to harden their property by doing things such as strengthening their roofs, according to Rochman.