ICC joins stake holders in U.S. House testimony on the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program

Virtually every state of our nation experiences some variety of windstorm, and from 1980 to 2017, these natural disasters have resulted in over 5,000 fatalities and $1 trillion in economic losses. That’s why recent testimony from ICC and stake holders before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittees on Research and Technology and Environment stressed support for the reauthorization of the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (NWIRP). The program is implemented through a coordinated effort between federal agencies, academia, and private sector organizations such as the International Code Council. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Science Foundation are all participants. The program supports the development, adoption and enforcement of building codes and other mitigation strategies. “Building codes have been recognized as a highly cost-effective hazard mitigation measure,” Ryan Colker, ICC Vice President of Innovation and Executive Director of the Alliance for National and Community Resilience (ANCR). “We stand ready to support this Committee and the NWIRP agencies in achieving shared goals of better understanding windstorms and assessing and reducing their impacts.” The Congressionally-established National Institute of Building Sciences found that adopting the 2018 International Building Code and International Residential Code, which govern commercial and residential construction and renovations, provided $10 in mitigation benefits against hurricane winds for every $1 invested. Click here to read the full story