Federal agencies boost standards for more resilient construction

Multiple federal agencies this month initiated new policies to make buildings in the U.S. more resilient to natural disasters.

Among the initiatives announced by the Obama Administration were:

• Incorporation of resilient building codes into U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Agriculture housing programs
• Updates to the 2005 Multihazard Mitigation Council Mitigation Saves study by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Institute of Building Sciences
• A disaster deductible for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Public Assistance program
• Climate change risk screening for the General Services Administration's capital investment leasing program
• Tornado-resilient codes and standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology
• Resilient building codes from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers