FEMA has released three new recovery advisories (RA) developed in response to Hurricane Ian, which impacted southwest Florida in September of 2022. The recovery advisories include recommendations for reducing water intrusion through and around doors and windows due to wind-driven rain. According to officials, the third advisory, RA 3 – Reducing Water Intrusion Through Windows […]

Housing production weakened in February as ongoing high material costs and interest rates continue to affect the housing industry. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau report overall housing starts decreased 10.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42 million units. The 1.42 million starts is the number […]

The 2020 edition of ICC 500 includes several updates. Dave Stammen, engineer for the built environment at UL LLC, provided an overview of those changes to the Fenestration & Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) in a webinar titled, “ICC 500-2020: Updates to the Tornado and Hurricane Storm Shelter Standard.” Committee work began on the new edition […]

As the nation sees an increase of natural disasters leaving the communities in their paths’ with billions-of-dollars’ worth of damage, several organizations are making an effort to reduce these costs through resilient building tactics. Composed of federal, state, local, tribal and territorial public-sector representatives, the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group (MitFLG) released this month a strategy […]

A pair of major earthquakes shook Southern California this month, and DWM’s sister site, usglassmag.com, took a look at how buildings, and glass shops fared, in the weeks following the quakes, while also reviewing the current industry standards. According to Desert Sun, roads and buildings suffered the most damage, with glass blown out of some buildings […]

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is praising the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the FEMA Disaster Assistance Act of 2015 (HR 1471), which includes a key provision to conduct a new study about pre-disaster investment in the U.S. “It’s much more cost-effective to provide pre-disaster mitigation assistance than to repeatedly […]

The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) joined with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the first National PrepareAThon on April 30, which will help home and business owners become better prepared for natural disasters. “Research shows that communities, families and individuals who prepare in advance for possible disasters are better able […]