CREATING DISASTER-RESILIENT
BUILDINGS TO MINIMIZE
DISASTER DEBRIS
&EPA
July 2024
EPA 530-R-24-003
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is grateful for the invaluable assistance of
the organizations and individuals who helped develop the Creating Disaster-Resilient
Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris report.
The project benefitted from funding and support from EPA Region 9, EPA's Office of Resource
Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) and EPA's Built Environment Workgroup. EPA
contributors included Timonie Hood, Melissa Kaps, Ksenija Janjic, Lisa McArthur, Jocelyn
Hospital, Toshia King, Norwood Scott (former), Sheeren D'Souza (former), Susan Vescovi,
Dolly Tong, Theresa Blaine, Kristina Torres (former), Rebecca Jamison, Jazmin Rodriguez -
EPA Virtual Student Federal Service Intern, and Denise Thompson - EPA Pathways Zero
Waste Intern.
This product was originally developed for EPA Region 9 by Booz Allen Hamilton and David
Eisenberg with the Development Center for Appropriate Technology (EPA Contract No.
EPW13001, Task Order 48) and updated and adapted for national audiences by Eastern
Research Group, Inc. (EPA Contract No. 68HERH19D0033, Task Order 3).
Some materials in this document have been adapted from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency guides: Protect Your Property from High Winds, How to Prepare for a
Flood, Avoiding Wildfire Damage: A Checklist for Homeowners, and Earthquake Safety at
Home.
Disclaimer
This document is not intended, nor can it be relied upon, to create any rights enforceable by
any party in litigation with the United States. This document does not impose legally binding
requirements. Mention of case studies; public, private, or nonprofit entities; trade names; or
commercial products or services in this document does not and should not be construed to
constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any such product or service for use in any
manner.
Photo credits: Photos are courtesy of EPA unless otherwise noted. License information for
images used under Creative Commons licenses appears on page 50.
Cover images:
• Top left: Beach erosion caused by Hurricane Matthew in the St. Augustine, Florida, area
(Paul Brennan, publicdomainpictures.net).
• Top middle: Infrastructure burning from the Caldor Fire in El Dorado County, California,
on August 29, 2021 (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection).
• Top right: Sinkhole affecting a structure and its supporting infrastructure, such as buried
utilities lines, in the Dover area of Florida during a freeze event in January 2010 (Ann
Tihansky, U.S. Geological Service).
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Acknowledgements
• Bottom: The Federal Center South U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District
Headquarters Building is a LEED Gold building completed by the U.S. General Services
Administration in 2012 using nearly 200,000 board feet of structural and nonstructural
lumber from an adjacent warehouse that was deconstructed (Theresa Blaine, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency).
License information for photos used under a Creative Commons license:
• Figure 9
Original image: www.freeimages.com/photo/big-tree-roots-1410717.
License: www.freeimages.com/license.
• Figure 10
Original image: www.freeimages.com/photo/spider-web-1196655.
License: www.freeimages.com/license.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris provides practical actions for
communities (e.g., cities, counties, states, territories, and tribes) on planning, designing,
improving, and adapting new and existing buildings to withstand natural disasters today and in
a changing climate. Community leaders and members, planners, designers, builders, and
disaster response experts can use this information to increase the resiliency of homes,
businesses, and other buildings to the impacts of natural disaster hazards, including flooding,
fire, and high winds. This information can be applied in all communities, including communities
with environmental justice concerns, where community involvement and investments in
resilience are critically needed.
Natural disasters and extreme climate events pose significant risk to human health and the
environment and burden communities, waste management facilities, and transporters. The
generated debris is often disposed of in landfills, even when it could be safely reused,
recycled, or composted - contributing to the circular economy. Designing the built
environment, such as buildings and roadways, to be resilient to disasters helps minimize
disaster debris and make reconstruction efforts less costly while using fewer resources.
Resilient communities generate significantly less debris during and after a natural disaster,
recover faster, encouraging residents and businesses to stay in the area as normal operations
resume sooner, and save money and use fewer resources to rebuild and recover.
The first part of this document highlights proven, innovative strategies for disaster-resilient
buildings. These best practices are inspired from nature and lived experience. They are
organized by what can be done before a disaster, in anticipation of an imminent disaster, and
after a disaster. Many of the practices apply to more than one phase. The second part
presents lessons learned from two natural disasters, which illustrate the need for resilient
buildings and strategies. The third and last part of the document provides resources on debris
management, disaster planning, and resiliency that explore these topics in more depth.
Creating disaster-resilient buildings presents an opportunity to minimize disaster debris while
advancing a circular economy, conserving resources, decreasing waste, and reducing health,
social, environmental, and economic impacts.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements i
Executive Summary iii
Introduction 1
Impacts of Natural Disaster Hazards on Buildings 5
Section 1. Best Practices for Creating Resilient and Adaptable Buildings 9
1.1. Before Natural Disasters 9
1.1.1. Design for Resilience 10
Natural Systems 10
Biomimicry 12
Resources on Resilience 14
1.1.2. Design for Disassembly and Adaptation 16
Disassembly 16
Adaptation 17
1.1.3. Retrofit and Upgrade Buildings 20
Example Funding Strategies and Incentives 25
1.1.4. Building Codes and Standards 26
1.2. In Anticipation of Impending Natural Disasters 28
1.3. After Natural Disasters 30
1.3.1. Planning for Resilience and Waste Reduction 31
1.3.2. Using Salvaged Materials 33
Section 2. Lessons Learned from Natural Disasters 37
2.1. Extreme Coastal Storm Events 37
Disaster Example: Typhoon Soudelor, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands 37
2.2. Wildfire and Fire Events 41
Disaster Example: Wildfires in California 42
Conclusion 46
Additional Resources 47
EPA Resources 47
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Table of Contents
Biomimicry 48
Design for Deconstruction, Disassembly, Reuse, and Adaptation 49
Organizations Supporting Building Materials Reuse and Recycling 50
Codes and Standards 50
Codes (General) 50
Research 51
Systems and Standards 51
Disaster Resilience Strategies 52
General 52
For Earthquakes 53
For High-Wind Events 53
For Floods 54
For Wildfires 55
Disaster Recovery Phase 56
Post-Disaster 56
Glossary 57
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Introduction
Introduction
Every year, natural disasters challenge the
built environment for communities in the
United States, destroying homes,
businesses, and other infrastructure and
costing billions of dollars in damages. As
climate change increases, the frequency
and severity of natural disasters, such as
landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires,
and intense storms, the impacts associated
with these disasters are growing and include
loss of life, community disruptions,
environmental impacts, property loss, and
the burden of dealing with disaster debris.
Natural disasters can also cause
environmental justice impacts that should be
addressed in all disaster phases.
What Is the Built Environment?
The built environment touches all aspects of
people's lives, encompassing the buildings
people live and work in, the distribution
systems that provide communities with water
and electricity, and the roads, bridges, and
transportation systems people use to get from
place to place.
Generally, the built environment
encompasses the human-made or modified
structures that provide people with living,
working, and recreational spaces. Creating all
these spaces and systems requires enormous
quantities of materials.
Environmental Justice
Environmental justice1 means the just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people,
regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability, in agency
decision-making and other Federal activities that affect human health and the environment
so that people:
• are fully protected from disproportionate and adverse human health and
environmental effects (including risks) and hazards, including those related to climate
change, the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens, and the legacy
of racism or other structural or systemic barriers; and
• have equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment in which to
live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and engage in cultural and subsistence
practices.
Due to factors such as historical discrimination, social marginalization, economic inequality,
and environmental degradation, disasters and climate events often disproportionately affect
communities with environmental justice concerns, worsening environmental, economic, and
health injustices. For example, their proximity to industrial areas and hazardous waste sites
make them more vulnerable to toxic leaks from storm damage and the mental and physical
1 U.S. EPA(n.d.). Environmental Justice, https://www.epa.qov/environmentaliustice.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Introduction
impacts of contaminated, unmanaged disaster debris.2 Limited access to information,
resources, and assistance can exacerbate the harm to these communities.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) 2022-2026 Strategic Plan3
recognizes that underserved communities and specific identity groups often suffer
disproportionately from disasters. As a result, disasters can worsen existing inequities in
society through, for example, the unequal siting of debris staging areas or the lack of local
participation in debris management and recovery planning. This cycle compounds the
challenges faced by these communities and increases their risk to future disasters.
Therefore, it is critical to advance human safety and environmental justice for all by providing
resilient, affordable housing and effective, equitable disaster debris planning and management,
which are key to the health, safety, and recovery of communities impacted by natural
disasters.
To achieve this, marginalized and overburdened communities should be ensured access to the
full range of disaster mitigation, response, and recovery resources (e.g., funding, equipment,
personnel) and be involved as equal partners at every level of decision-making (e.g., planning,
implementation, evaluation). As Administrator Regan in EPA's FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan4
statement shares, "We will employ the full array of policy and legal tools at our disposal to
incorporate environmental and climate justice considerations in our analysis, rulemaking,
permitting, enforcement, grantmaking, operations, disaster response and recovery, and
other activities."
Disaster response and recovery also increase the demands on energy, natural resources, and
community resources. By taking action to mitigate risks before a natural disaster occurs,
communities can reduce community disruption and recovery costs after a disaster, supporting
environmental justice, as well as advancing a circular economy. Some of the actions that can
help mitigate risks are designing resilient and adaptable buildings and retrofitting existing
buildings, securing the property against expected hazards, creating a disaster debris
management plan, and contacting relevant agencies and organizations.
2 Brie Sherwin. (2019). After the Storm: The Importance of Acknowledging Environmental Justice in Sustainable Development
and Disaster Preparedness. 29 Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum 273-300.
https://scholarship.law.duke.edU/delpf/vol29/iss2/2.
3 FEMA. 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema 2022-2026-strateaic-plan.pdf.
4 EPA. (2022). FY 2022-2026 EPA Strategic Plan, https://www.epa.gov/planandbudqet/strateqicplan.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Introduction
What is a Circular Economy?
A circular economy keeps materials and products in circulation for as long possible. The
Save Our Seas 2.0 Act refers to an economy that uses a systems-focused approach and
involves industrial processes and economic activities that are restorative or regenerative by
design, enables resources used in such processes and activities to maintain their highest
value for as long as possible, and aims for the elimination of waste through the superior
design of materials, products, and systems.5
What is Embodied Carbon?
Also known as embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, embodied carbon refers to the
amount of GHG emissions associated with upstream—extraction, production, transport, and
manufacturing—stages of a product's life. Many initiatives to track, disclose, and reduce
embodied carbon emissions also consider emissions associated with the use of a product
and its disposal.6
Understanding and disclosing these emissions to better inform selection of lower-embodied
carbon construction materials and products is rapidly advancing and is critical to reducing
the carbon footprint of the built environment.
Decisions on design, construction, and materials within the built environment can have
significant impacts on carbon emissions, human health, and resiliency.
This document focuses on actions community officials, leaders, and members
(including those in cities, counties, states, territories, tribes, businesses, and
community organizations) can take to plan, design, improve, and adapt homes and
other buildings to withstand natural disasters today and in a changing climate. It
advances a circular economy approach, shifting from the model in which resources are mined,
made into products, and then become waste. A circular economy reduces material use,
redesigns materials to be less resource and carbon intensive, and recaptures "waste" as a
resource to manufacture new materials and products.
5 U.S. EPA (n.d.). Circular Economy, https://www.epa.aov/circulareconomv.
6 U.S. EPA (n.d.). What is Embodied Carbon? https://www.epa.qov/qreenerproducts/what-embodied-carbon.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Introduction
What Is Natural Disaster Debris and Why Should We Care7?
Natural disaster debris refers to the material and waste streams resulting from a natural
disaster.
Disaster debris often includes building materials, sediments, vegetative debris, and personal
property. Large quantities of debris can make response and recovery efforts difficult by
hindering emergency personnel, damaging or blocking access to necessary infrastructure,
and posing threats to human health and the environment.
The needs for disaster debris mitigation and sustainable management of generated debris
are growing rapidly as the frequency and severity of natural disasters continues to increase.
For many communities, more and stronger disasters means larger quantities of debris will be
generated that may end up in landfills, thereby leaving the circular economy.
Considering the health, environmental, social, and economic costs and impacts to
communities associated with debris generation, cleanup, and management, the development
of effective strategies to plan for, mitigate, and respond to natural disaster debris is critical for
resilience. Resilience means the capacity to plan for, withstand, adapt to, and recover from
natural disasters with minimal damage in a timely, effective, and safe manner.
From 2011 to 2022, 90 percent of U.S. counties - covering over 300 million people -
experienced a flood, hurricane, wildfire, or other emergency serious enough to receive a
federal disaster declaration, and more than 700 counties suffered 5 or more such disasters.8
When considering all the health, environmental, social, and economic costs of managing
debris, including from damaged buildings, after a disaster, it is more sustainable and likely less
costly to invest in resilient building siting and design before a disaster happens. A community
that invests in debris mitigation actions before a natural disaster occurs can significantly
reduce the generation of natural disaster debris after a disaster; protect neighborhoods; save
energy, natural resources, and community resources; and, thereby, reduce response and
recovery costs.
For example, the National Institute of Building Sciences' Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves:
2019 Report documents that rebuilding to the most recent building codes requirements saves
on average $11 per $1 spent on mitigation, while exceeding building code minimum
requirements saves $4 per $1 spent (Figure 1 below).9 Additionally, FEMA's Building Codes
Save: A Nationwide Study estimates $132 billon could be saved in property losses based on
past and forecasted growth in the use of modern building codes from 2000-2040.10
7 U.S. EPA. (n.d.). https://www.epa.qov/homeland-securitv-waste.
8 Rebuild by Design. (2022). Atlas of Disaster, https://rebuildbvdesian.org/atlas-of-disaster/.
9 National Institute of Building Sciences. (2019). National Institute of Building Sciences' Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: 2019
Report, https://www.nibs.ora/proiects/natural-hazard-mitiaation-saves-2019-report.
10 FEMA. (2020). Building Codes Save: A Nationwide Study, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-11/fema buildina-
codes-save studv.pdf.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Introduction
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Sciences' Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: 2019 Report, https://www.nibs.org/Droiects/natural-hazard-
mitigation-saves-2019-report).
To support the implementation of mitigation measures and practices that result in less disaster
debris generation and, therefore, reduce the cost of response and recovery, this document
provides an overview of:
1) Proven, innovative strategies for disaster-resilient buildings.
2) Lessons learned from natural disasters.
3) Resources on debris management and disaster planning.
Planners, designers, builders, disaster response experts, and community members can use
this information to improve communities' adaptation and resilience to natural disasters.
Climate adaptation strategies prepare a community for a changing climate, and resilience
strategies increase the ability of the community to withstand and recover from natural disasters
and related impacts. Incorporating these strategies together into building designs and
improvements creates strong buildings and communities that can:
• Generate significantly less debris during and after a natural disaster.
• Recover faster, encouraging residents and businesses to stay in the area.
• Save money and use fewer resources to rebuild and recover.
Impacts of Natural Disaster Hazards on Buildings
Hazards from flooding, wind, fire, and other natural disasters vary widely and may cause a
broad range of building-related damage and debris, especially if buildings have not been
designed or retrofitted to withstand worsening hazards. Communities may be at risk for more
than one type of natural disaster and may experience several disasters together. Their hazards
can impact buildings and communities.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Introduction
However, these Impacts are not evenly distributed across society. Some communities, such as
low-income, minority, or indigenous groups, often bear the brunt of natural disasters and their
hazards, as noted above.
The following chart outlines common hazards created by natural disasters and associated
building-related impacts and highlights some the issues that communities may face.
High Winds Caused by Hurricanes, Typhoons, Tornadoes, Derechos, and Other
Phenomena
• Structural damage and failures caused
by wind velocity, uplift, and/or pressure
differentials, including damage to roofs,
appliances, utilities, and heating,
ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)
equipment.
• Impacts from flying objects and falling
objects like branches and trees.
• Moisture and mold issues in structures
from wind-blown rain.
Extreme Winter Weather and Temperature Variability from Winter, Ice, and Hail Storms
• Roof collapse and other structural
failures from heavy snow and ice loads
and falling branches and trees, as well
as damage to appliances, utilities, and
HVAC equipment.
• Roof, window, and other damage from
hail.
• Freeze-thaw damage to building
features.
• Disruption of power through damaged
and downed utility infrastructure like
power lines, substations, and
generators, which can delay response
and recovery efforts and cause
additional waste, such as spoiled food.
Figure 2, Tornado damage at a mobile home park in
Ridgeway, South Carolina (FEMA).
• Mold from melting snow or ice.
• Water damage from plumbing failures
associated with physical damage or
extreme cold.
Figure 3. Partial roof collapse at an elementary school
due to snow load (Building America Solution Center/
U.S. Department of Education).
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Introduction
Coastal and Inland Flooding, Storm Surges, Tsunamis, Sea Level Rise,
Extreme Rainfall Events, and Flash Floods
• Structural damage to foundations,
floors, walls, roofs, doors, windows,
interior elements, appliances, utilities,
and HVAC equipment.
• Salt-related corrosion from coastal
flooding and sea level rise.
• Damage from floating debris.
• Mold and impacts to indoor air quality
from water.
• Biological and chemical contamination
from contaminated water.
• Spread of disease from contaminated
water.
Figure 4. Two residents of the village of Leone, American
Samoa, walk through waist-high water while removing
structure debris after a tsunami (Casey Deshong /
FEMA).
Fire from Structure Fires, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Wildfires
• Structural damage and failure, including
to interior elements, appliances, utilities,
and HVAC equipment.
• Smoke damage from fire.
• Water damage and mold from fire
suppression activities.
Figure 5. Residential structure during a wildfire (Jana
Baldwin / FEMA).
Landslides and Erosion from Sinkholes, Mudslides, Avalanches, and Earthquakes
• Structural damage and failure for all
building features, including to
appliances, utilities, and HVAC
equipment.
• Erosion damage.
• Ground failure (i.e., when the stability of
the ground is impacted, including from
landslides, liquefaction, and subsidence
damage). Figure 6. Home destroyed by a landslide following
Hurricane Maria (Andrea Booher / FEMA).
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Introduction
Adaptation and resilience strategies are inherently place-based and should start with an
understanding of which natural disasters a particular community is likely to experience and the
impacts these hazards may have in the specific area. Historical information, geographical
information, and climate change projections can help a community understand and prioritize
planning for specific types of disasters and their hazards.
Also, the characteristics and features of the location and surrounding area may exacerbate
hazards from natural disasters. For example, buildings in floodplains face a greater risk of
flooding, and buildings located on slopes may face a greater risk of erosion or landslides.
Existing structures can often be retrofitted to better address current and future hazards. New
structures should be designed and built to withstand all expected hazards now and in the
future. Communities should also keep in mind that reducing development in high-risk areas like
coastal areas projected to be impacted by sea level rise and changing floodplain areas11 may
be the best strategy for avoiding additional damage from natural disasters.
11 Sea level rise, changing precipitation patterns, and development have increased the flood risk across much of the U.S.
changing traditional floodplain definitions. FEMA. (2023). Federal Flood Risk Management Standard.
https://www.fema.qov/floodplain-manaqement/interqovernmental/federal-flood-risk-manaqement-standard.
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Section 1
Section 1. Best Practices for Creating Resilient and Adaptable
Buildings
Resilient building adaptation and strategies range from simple and inexpensive to complex and
costly. Some strategies can be implemented before any natural disaster occurs, in anticipation
of an impending natural disaster, and after a natural disaster is experienced to build back a
stronger and more resilient community.
This section describes some of the best practices that communities can take to protect the built
environment from natural disasters. Because the EPA encourages integrated, place-based
planning and design appropriate for building function and local conditions, the
following strategies and materials are not appropriate for all types of disasters,
locations, and building types.
1.1. Before Natural Disasters
When anticipating future natural disasters, using best practices in building design can support
building and infrastructure resilience. Resilient building design can leverage natural systems
and protections and incorporate biomimicry - the practice that learns from and mimics the
strategies found in nature to solve human design challenges. In addition to designing for
resiliency, other strategies to consider include designing buildings for disassembly and
adaptation. Existing buildings can be retrofitted and upgraded to be resilient and adaptable to
help limit damage from natural disasters and climate events, decrease the amount of debris
generated by disasters, and speed up recovery. Current building codes and standards can
help guide building design and retrofits.
Enhancing the resilience and adaptability of new and existing buildings can also help reduce
the exposure of communities, including communities with environmental justice concerns, to
disasters. For example, these best practices can advance affordable and accessible housing
and infrastructure services, which can improve the living conditions and well-being of
vulnerable communities, by reducing destruction and recovery costs.
Circular design principles can promote the use of renewable, biodegradable, and locally
sourced materials, which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, waste generation, and
resource depletion. Also, by encouraging the reuse and recycling of building materials and
components, the need for new extraction and production is reduced, which lowers the costs
and environmental impacts of recovery. These best practices can also support the continuity
and reliability of essential services, such as energy, water, and waste management, which can
enhance the coping capacity and safety of communities with environmental justice concerns.
Plans should be made to identify any need for services to those with disabilities and limited
English proficiency (LEP) to provide meaningful access to services.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Section 1
Accessibility and Language Resources
• FEMA, Disaster Preparedness for People with Disabilities: Same But Different
https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230425/disaster-preparedness-people-disabilities-
same-different.
• U.S. Department of Justice, Limited English Proficiency LEP.gov
https://www.lep.gov/
• EPA, Assisting People with Limited English Proficiency
https://www.epa.gov/external-civil-rights/assisting-people-limited-english-proficiencv
• City of Baltimore, Language Access Toolkit
https://ispeak.baltimorecitv.gov/translating-vital-documents
1.1.1. Design for Resilience
Below are some strategies and resources to consider when designing buildings for resilience.
Passive Survivability
Resilient design can also include planning for passive survivability, or designing a building
to provide necessary shelter, thermal, and other life-support services during extended utility
service disruptions. Designing for passive survivability can protect building occupants and
help prevent additional damage and building-related disaster debris. For example, a tight
building envelope and plumbing that will not freeze can reduce disaster debris from flooding.
Passive survivability is especially important for critical infrastructure, such as fire and police
stations, hospitals, schools, and emergency shelters.
Natural Systems
Considering natural systems and using natural materials during building design is a growing
source of innovation used to generate more resilient buildings. Below are some examples of
leveraging natural systems to help protect buildings and surrounding infrastructure from
potential natural disasters.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Section 1
Brock Regional Environmental Center,
Virginia Beach, Virginia
This structure is raised 14 feet above sea level
in anticipation of future sea level rise. The
building uses the natural drainage features of
the landscape, as well as water-permeable
hardscape, to prevent paving and hardscaping
from carrying water runoff. These features
protect the building and surrounding structures.
Learn More
• "Climate Change Ready," Chesapeake Bay
Foundation, https://www.cbf.org/about-
cbf/locations/virginia/facilities/brock-
environmental-center/climate-chanqe-
readv.html.
Sustainable Adobe Safety Cottages, Santa Barbara, California
This proposed residential redevelopment in downtown Santa Barbara, California by Oasis
Design envisions highly fire-resistant and earthquake-safe Adobe Safety Cottage micro-units
designed to have minimal environmental impacts by using natural materials, maximizing
water and energy conservation, having a long design life, and having low landfill volume for
the full life of the project. The fiber composite adobe exterior is essentially a monolithic
adobe "brick," fashioned in the shape of the whole house. The walls, floors, roof, and built-in
ceiling are nonflammable, insulating, and heat absorbing. They are made of adobe, steel,
thin shell cement, tile, granite, wrought iron, aluminum, and glass. Curves, built-in furniture,
floors, and roofing are all part of a mutually reinforcing structure, which is held together by
welded wire mesh and long straw.
Learn More
• The White House's Nature-Based Solutions Resource Guide. The guide contains 30
examples of ways that federal agencies have used nature-based solutions to achieve
their goals. The diverse set of examples demonstrates that nature-based solutions can
provide many different benefits, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-
content/uploads/2022/11/Nature-Based-Solutions-Resource-Guide-2022.pdf.
• "Sustainable Affordable Adobe Safety Cottages," Oasis Design.
https://oasisdesign.net/shelter/safetvcottage/.
Figure 7. Brock Regional Environmental Center
(Deanna Brusa / Chesapeake Bay Foundation
staff).
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Section 1
Figure 8. Models of highly fire-resistant and earthquake-safe Adobe Safety Cottage micro-units designed to
have minimal environmental impacts by using natural materials and water and energy conservation
(Art Ludwig / https://oasisdesign. net/).
Biomimicry
Blomimicry, an emerging set of practices that uses nature as both a pattern and an inspiration,
can allow for more resilient and regenerative designs. This creative approach holds promise
for reducing building-related disaster debris. Biomimicry can also inform the positioning and
relationship of buildings to each other and to the local environment. EPA acknowledges the
leadership of the Biomimicry Institute and Biomimicry 3.8 in developing and sharing this
inspiring approach to designing buildings and building materials.12
Increasing Building Resiliency: Root Systems
The oak trees that survived Hurricane Katrina could be
used as a case study for surviving hurricanes.
Underground, their roots are intertwined with
neighboring trees, so when hurricane-force winds hit,
the interconnected root systems mean the trees are
more likely to remain standing than if their roots were
not interconnected.
Research could be conducted to understand if building
foundations could be connected with intertwined
horizontal components to better withstand high wind
speeds. Similarly, the intertwining of roots of mangroves
on vulnerable coastal slopes and areas subject to
erosion could inspire research tying building foundation
systems together to increase strength and stability.
Figure 9. Tree root systems may provide
insights for building disaster resilient
buildings (Francisco Ramos /
Free images, com).
12 Biomimicry Institute. (2016). https://biomimicrv.org/ and: Biomimicry 3.8. (n.d.). https://biomimicrv.net/.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
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Figure 10. A spider web provides a
natural design model for resilient building
materials (Christophe Libert/
Free images, com).
Learn More
• "Think Like a Tree: What We Can Learn from the
Oaks That Survived Katrina," Wired Magazine,
August 26, 2015,
https://www.wired.com/2015/Q8/thirik-like-tree-
learning-oaks-survived-katrina/.
• "Biomimicry of Mangroves Teaches How to Improve
Coastal Barriers" Ansys, March 6, 2019,
https://www.ansvs.com/bloq/biomimicrv-manqroves-
improve-coastal-erosion-coastal-barriers.
Increasing Building Resiliency: Velcro and Webs
Velcro is another example of design informed by nature.
It was invented by a Swiss engineer after he examined
the tiny hooks of cockleburs stuck on his pants and in
his dog's fur. Using a similar hook-and-loop fastening
system, Velcro could be used to inform new
construction of exterior building systems (e.g., panels)
that could be reused, adjusted, and repositioned to
adapt to changing environments.
The web silk of spiders is both lightweight and extremely
strong - in some cases, stronger than steel. It is a
remarkable example of biomaterial with superior
mechanical characteristics. Engineers are looking into
developing spider-silk-inspired materials, such as
disaster retrofit connectors or other resilient building
applications.
Learn More
• "Spider silk is five times stronger than steel—now,
scientists know why," Science, November 20, 2018.
https://www.science.org/content/article/spider-silk-
five-times-stronger-steel-now-scientists-know-why.
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Figure 11. SOM's entry in the Transbay
Tower & Transit Center Competition for
the City of San Francisco (Image
copyright SOM, used with permission).
Increasing Building Resiliency: Natural Geometries
By combining structural system design and biology,
engineers are investigating the growth patterns of
bamboo, the fractal geometry of the chambered
nautilus shell, and other natural systems for clues on
how to design more resilient high-rise structures using
fewer materials while increasing structural integrity.
Inspired by nature and the structural durability of
natural forms like shells, some dome-shaped buildings
can withstand high winds and debris impacts from
hurricanes and tornadoes, as well as earthquakes.
Efficient structural forms mimicking those found in
nature can reduce the overall volume of materials
required and eliminate large quantities of waste.
Learn More
"Nature \ Structure: Structural Efficiency Through
Natural Geometries." (White paper on developing
sustainable structural solutions for buildings utilizing
biomimicry.) Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP
(SOM),
httos://www. vunipu. com/en/document/read/2640705
O/nature-structure-skidmore-owinas-merrill-llD.
Figure 12. Dome house, California (Alfred
Twu / Wikimedia Commons).
Resources on Resilience
Place-based pre-disaster preparation and disaster resilience planning that incorporates
integrated hazard planning (e.g., source reduction; hazard mitigation; increased reuse,
recycling, and composting), including mapping and assessment of both hazards and
resources, can increase disaster resilience. Boosting community resiliency in anticipation and
preparation for a natural disaster leads to a quicker and less costly recovery to the pre-incident
state after a disaster occurs. The box below highlights some key disaster resiliency planning
resources that can help communities develop strategies to decrease potential debris before a
disaster occurs.
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Key Disaster Resilience Planning Resources
• U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. A framework to help communities systematically
consider and address their climate hazards. Communities can use this portal to
document their past, present, and future exposure to climate-related hazards.
https://toolkit.climate.gov/.
• EPA Planning for Natural Disaster Debris. Guide designed to help all communities
(including cities, counties, territories, tribes, and more) create disaster debris
management plans, https://www.epa.gov/homeland-securitv-waste/guidance-about-
planninq-natural-disaster-debris.
• EPA Disaster Resilient Design Concepts. This document showcases disaster-resilient
designs, organized by hazard type, to help communities reduce the impact of disasters,
recover more quickly, strengthen local economies, and create safer, more equitable
places to live by reducing hazards especially for those most vulnerable.
https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/disaster-resilient-design-concepts.
• EPA Smart Growth Strategies for Disaster Resilience and Recovery. Resources,
such as the EPA-FEMA MOU and example projects on smart growth strategies.
https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/smart-growth-strategies-disaster-resilience-and-
recoverv#EPA%20Resources.
• FEMA Best Practices in Local Mitigation Planning. Best practices for developing or
updating a local hazard mitigation plan that will meet the requirements for approval by
FEMA, based on FEMA's Local Mitigation Planning Handbook (2013), as well as
examples drawn from local hazard mitigation plans in the U.S.
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-Q6/fema-local-mitigation-planning-
handbook 03-2013.pdf and https://www.fema.gov/emergencv-managers/risk/hazard-
mitigation-planning/best-practices.
• Resilient Design Institute. Resilient design principles to achieve resilience at the
building scale, https://www.resilientdesign.org/the-resilient-design-principles/.
• RELi Resilient Design Guidelines + Certification. Holistic project guide, rating system,
and third party certification system that emphasizes resilience.
https://c3livingdesign.org/reli/.
• U.S. Resiliency Council Building Performance Ratings. Rating metrics that describe
the performance of buildings during earthquakes and other natural hazard events.
https://www.usrc.org/usrc-rating-svstem/.
• Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety FORTIFIED Commercial Building
Standard and FORTIFIED Home program. Voluntary construction and re-roofing
program designed to strengthen homes and commercial buildings against specific types
of severe weather, https://fortifiedhome.org/ and https://fortifiedhome.org/technical-
documents/#standards.
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1.1.2. Design for Disassembly and Adaptation
Below are some strategies and resources to consider when designing buildings for
disassembly and adaptation. This type of design is also sometimes called circular or reversible
design.
Disassembly
Designing for disassembly—buildings with systems and materials that are easy and safe to
take apart, repair, and reuse—is an important consideration of the complete life cycle of a
structure. Disassembly supports the reuse and repair of buildings and building components.
Designing buildings for easy disassembly can also reduce disaster-related building debris and
support the repair, reuse, recycling, and even the relocation of structures and materials after
disaster events. Items that can often be safely reused include:
Lumber (structural and non-
structural)
Wood flooring
Trim
Cabinets & Vanities
Brick
Pavers
» Roofing Tiles
» Doors
» Fireplace mantels
» Countertops
» *Windows
» *Fixtures
» *Appliances
*Reuse if they meet code or recycle.
Benefits of design for disassembly and building adaptation include reducing a building's life
cycle environmental impacts, minimizing waste, reducing costs, and supporting the local
economy and jobs.
,c l
wk r^. ....
rnr A
Figure 13. The South Lake Union Discovery Center in Seattle was designed for future transportation,
reassembly, and reuse in a new location. The building separates at three integrated joints to break into four
modules that can be moved on trucks by streets (not freeways). The building sits lightly on the land atop short
concrete piers, allowing the grade and vegetation to run uninterrupted beneath. Gangway ramps with hinged
joints can adapt to the topography of future locations (The Miller Hull Partnership).
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
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Ten Key Principles for Design for Disassembly
1. Document materials and methods for
deconstruction. As-built drawings, labeling
of connections and materials, and a
deconstruction plan in the design
specifications all contribute to efficient
disassembly and deconstruction.
2. Select materials using the
precautionary principle. High-quality
materials that are chosen with consideration
for future impacts will retain value and/or be
more feasible for reuse and recycling.
3. Design connections that are accessible.
Visually, physically, and ergonomically
accessible connections will increase
efficiency and avoid requirements for
expensive equipment or extensive
environmental health and safety protections
for workers.
4. Minimize or eliminate chemical
connections. Binders, sealers, and glues on
or in materials make them difficult to separate
and recycle, as well as increase the potential
for negative human and ecological health
impacts from their use.
5. Use bolted, screwed, and nailed
connections. Using standard and limited
palettes of connectors will decrease tool
needs, as well as time and effort to switch
between tools.
6. Separate mechanical, electrical, and
plumbing systems. Disentangling these
systems from the assemblies that host
them makes it easier to separate
components and materials for repair,
replacement, reuse, and recycling.
7. Design to the worker and labor of
separation. Creating human-scale
components or making components easy
to remove by standard mechanical
equipment will decrease labor intensity
and increase the ability to incorporate a
variety of skill levels.
8. Simplicity of structure and form.
Simple open-span structural systems
and forms, as well as standard
dimensional grids, will allow for ease of
construction and deconstruction in
increments.
9. Interchangeability. Using materials
and systems that exhibit principles of
modularity, independence, and
standardization will facilitate reuse.
10. Safe deconstruction. Allowing for
movement and safety of workers,
equipment and site access, and ease of
materials flow will make renovation and
disassembly more economical and
reduce risk.
Source: City of Seattle, King County, Hamer Center for Community Design, Pennsylvania
State University. Design for Disassembly in the Built Environment: A Guide to Closed Loop
Design and Building. https://kingcountv.gov/~/media/depts/dnrp/solid-waste/green-
building/documents/Design for Disassembly-guide.ashx?la=en.
Adaptation
Designing buildings to adapt to increasingly frequent and intense disasters can help reduce
debris and their impacts post-disaster.
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Indigenous Resilient Design
Examples of adaptable infrastructure can be found in Indigenous communities. The survival
of many cultural traditions, including those practiced by Tribes and Indigenous nations,
depend on safe access to raw materials found in nature. Because cultural traditions relied on
the availability of natural resources, many tribal societies focused on developing building
designs and practices that would endure for future generations. Traditionally, tribal nations
built structures using local resources, without benefit of written codes or modern machinery.
These structures were safe, strong, and energy and water efficient. Indigenous Resilient
Design provides a framework for how communities can create infrastructure that is
adaptable, ecofriendly, and enduring.
The National Institute of Health's Environmental Health Perspectives article entitled,
"Healthier Tribal Housing: Combining the Best of Old and New," provides an overview of the
environmental and health benefits of modern adaptations of indigenous building materials
and designs. The article explains the use and reuse of locally sourced materials and green
design elements to build homes that can adapt and respond to local climates.13
For example, earth lodges were a common form of shelter built by American Indians,
particularly by the Great Plains and Eastern Woodlands tribes. These underground or semi-
underground shelters, partially or completely covered with earth, were usually circular or
elongated round structures with a dome-like roof. They provided excellent shelter from high
winds and extreme temperatures.14
Other Examples of American Indian Resilient Design
The Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative, with funding from the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), produced case studies of traditional and local
materials used in tribal building projects:
• Navajo Nation Elder Hogan Homes combined traditional design with low-tech, tribally
sourced materials, including straw bales from the Navajo Agricultural Products
Industry, FlexCrete (Navajo-owned, lightweight, energy-efficient aerated concrete
panels), and other high-performance materials for durable, low-impact, culturally
accurate housing.15
13 NIH. (2012). Healthier Tribal Housing: Combining the Best of Old and New.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.aov/pmc/articles/PMC3548302/.
14 New World Encyclopedia. (2017). Earth Lodge.
https://www.newworldencvclopedia.ora/p/index.php?title=Earth lodae&oldid=1006962.
15 Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative, (n.d.). Elder Hogan Homes.
https://roadmap.sustainablenativecommunities.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/17 cs hud elder hogan homes.pdf.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
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Figure 14. Left: Interior of a finished Elder Hogan home (Photo: Harry Connolly). Right-
Construction of straw bale exterior walls (Photo: Nathaniel Corum). Photos used with permission
from Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative.
• Apsaalooke (Crow) Tribe Good Earth Lodges use insulated and compressed earth
block walls, other energy-efficient materials, and passive solar design to create
durable, healthy homes in Montana's harsh climate.16
• The Ohkay Owingeh Owe'neh Bupingeh project in the northern New Mexico pueblo of
Ohkay Owingeh was a culturally accurate housing rehabilitation program that included
research into traditional materials and techniques, education and training, sourcing of
local materials, and restoration of adobe housing in the village that has been occupied
for at least 700 years. The work included using earthen plasters, restoring traditional
roof vigas (round wood beams), and reusing the materials from unstable adobe walls
that were torn down and replaced in the earthen plaster. The project also included
energy upgrades, such as insulation and better windows.17
• The Pinoleville Pomo Nation Homes project near Ukiah, California built two earthen-
plastered straw bale homes designed through a collaborative community design-build
process with technical assistance from the University of California, Berkeley. The
homes incorporate culturally accurate design features, natural finishes, locally
harvested timbers, and energy and water efficient design.18
16 Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative, (n.d.). Good Earth Lodges.
https://roadmap.sustainablenativecommunities.org/wp-content/uDloads/2015/09/13 cs hud good earth lodqes.pdf.
17 Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative, (n.d.). Owe'Neh Bupingeh.
https://roadmap.sustainablenativecommunities.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/16 cs hud owe neh bupinaeh.pdf.
18 Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative, (n.d.). Pinoleville Pomo Nation Homes.
https://roadmap.sustainablenativecommunities.org/wp-
content/uploads/2015/09/07 cs hud pinoleville pomo nation homes.pdf.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
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Figure 15. Left: Homes constructed for the Pinoleville Pomo Nation Homes project. Right: Applying earth
plaster on an interior wall. Photos used with permission from Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative.
1.1.3. Retrofit arid Upgrade Buildings
Below are some example strategies and techniques for retrofitting existing houses and
buildings to improve their resilience to different natural hazards and disasters, as well as
example funding strategies and incentives.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
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Storm and High Wind Event Preparedness
Doors and Windows
• Install temporary or permanent storm doors
and impact resistant windows and shutters
ahead of a high-wind event.
• Ensure external doors and windows open
outward to resist being blown open in high
winds. When doors or windows blow open and
allow rain into buildings, increased interior
pressure can contribute to roof and wall failures
and cause mold issues.
Walls, Roofs, Garage Doors, and Gutters
• Install lateral bracing to reinforce gable end
walls (i.e., the triangular portion of a wall
between the edges of intersecting roof pitches).
Gable end wall failure is one of the most
common types of damage caused by
hurricanes (Figure 16).
• Strengthen roof-to-wall connections by using
a combination of straps to transfer uplift from
the trusses or rafters through the double top
plate and into the wall studs. This technique
can help tie the roof to the foundation and
support high-wind structural integrity.
• Install secondary water barriers with a water-
resistant layer or a roof underlayment layer or
product on the roof deck under the roofing to
protect against water intrusion and associated
moisture or mold damage.
• Install additional bracing systems (e.g.,
heavy-duty hinges and bars) on the inside of a
garage door to reinforce it from high winds.
• Design gutters to resist wind upload by
ensuring the roof edge flashing does not extend
into the gutter, lift up due to high winds, or peel
off the roofing and roofing membrane.
• Use appropriate fastener size, spacing, and
type for wall cladding, roofing, vents, IHVAC
equipment, windows, and doors. Decisions
should be governed by code requirements,
design wind speeds, and wind pressure
variation considerations.
Figure 16. Top: Gable end wall failure occurs
when walls lose support along the top edge; as
a result, sheathing is blown off, causing the
walls to fall inward or outward (South Carolina
Department of Insurance), Middle: Integral
gutters on a roof will not be torn away from the
structure during a high-wind event (FEMA).
Bottom: Storm shutters installed over doors
and windows on a residence (Photo by Dave
Gatley/FEMA).
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
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Flood Preparedness
Design for Water
• Build with materials that can get wet and
easily dry, like concrete, brick, and ceramic
tile,
• Design basement or lowest floor walls in
flood hazard areas with breakaway walls,
openings, or automatic vents. These
features allow equalization of water levels
and pressures on walls and foundations,
preventing structural damage from floodwater
flowing under the building.
Protect Utilities
• Raise HVAC and electrical systems above
anticipated flood levels or protect them
from floodwater. Elevating equipment can
decrease equipment damage, the time and
cost needed to re-start the systems, and
building damage caused by extreme
temperatures or a lack of ventilation after an
event.
• Install backflow prevention valves for
sanitary sewer lines and floor drains.
Flood Barriers
• Add flood barriers, such as bottom tracks or
floor barriers to door and window frames and
other vulnerable openings, to ensure a
weathertight seal. Residential flood barriers
include systems to seal entry and garage
doors, crawlspace vents, basement windows,
and exterior stairs.
Figure 17. Top: Elevated air conditioning
compressors (FEMA's Home Builder's Guide
to Coastal Construction). Middle: The
underside of an elevated V Zone building after
Hurricane Ivan. The breakaway walls
underneath the building broke away as
intended during the hurricane, and the
structure remained standing. (FEMA's Design
and Construction Guidance for Breakaway
Walls). Bottom: Floor drain with ball float check
valve (FEMA's Protecting Building Utility
Systems from Flood Damage).
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Section 1
KEEP YOUR GUTTERS CLEAR OF DEBRIS
in order to —i
Fire Preparedness
Roofing and Attic Vents
• Install Class A roofing (i.e., highest resistance
to fire) and fire-resistant building materials. Plug
gaps, such as gaps that occur in some clay or
cement tile roofs at the ridge and at the lower roof
edge, with a non-combustible material.
• Avoid or retrofit roof vents and gutters to
reduce fire risk. Vents can allow embers and
high heat to enter roofs and eaves. All external
vents should be screened with 1/8-inch or 1/16-
inch metal mesh.
Gutters
• Cover roof gutters with screens or other devices
to keep debris, including flammable debris and
embers, from accumulating. Remove debris that
does accumulate.
• Install flashing (i.e., thin, impervious sheets of
material placed in construction to prevent water
penetration or direct the flow of water) that fully
covers the edge of the roof sheathing (i.e., sheet
or board material, such as plywood or particle
board, connected to the roof rafters to act as a
base for shingles or other roof coverings) and
flammable fascia (i.e., board or band at the
outside vertical surface of a building) near gutters.
Windows
• Install fire-resistant windows and shutters.
Dual-pane windows, with at least one pane of
tempered glass, offer greater fire protection.
Shutters or window covers of plywood can be
installed when needed and can also protect
windows from external fire heat.
External surfaces
• Choose non-combustible exterior walls.
Masonry, cement stucco, and fiber-cement siding
are examples of good exterior wall finishes in fire-
prone areas.
• Ensure deck surfaces adjacent to or
connected to buildings are ignition-resistant,
such as lightweight concrete.
• Choose non-combustible fencing products in
wildfire prone areas.
Figure 18. Top: Ceramic tile roofing is a best
practice to mitigate embers from igniting the
roof structure. This home was protected by its
ceramic roof during the Valley Fire in
Middletown, California (Adam Dubrowa /
FEMA). Middle: FEMA graphic on the
importance of clearing gutters (FEMA). Bottom:
Home in New Mexico that incorporates fire
safety measures, such as metal roofs and
exterior doors, adobe and stucco exteriors, and
defensible space (FEMA).
Prevent water damage
*** when it rains or snows.
Get prepared at READY.GOV
Prevent fire from
spreading to your home.
8 FEMA
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Earthquake Preparedness
Note: Seismic structural upgrades typically require
engineering assessment and vary greatly between
sites and buildings.
Structural and Nonstructural Features
• Strengthen unreinforced masonry and
loadbearing walls, such as by using galvanized
steel wire ladder or truss laid in the mortar
between courses of brick or block.
• Strengthen foundation-to-wall and wall-to-roof
connections (more information in the section
above on Storm and High-Wind Event
Preparedness).
• Strengthen cripple walls, which enclose the
crawl space under the first floor in older wood-
framed buildings. Anchor plywood to the interior
face of the cripple wall, as well as to the sill plate
below the foundation, to increase wall strength.
• Add shear walls (i.e., braced panels) or steel
frames to strengthen multistory buildings.
• Install engineered tie-down systems for
manufactured housing.
• Add seismic restraints to heavy mechanical
equipment, water heaters, and appliances.
Additional resources to help with earthquake
preparedness are below:
• The California Seismic Safety Commission's
Homeowner's Guide to Earthquake Safety
provides guidance on residential building
earthquake safety. For more information, visit
https://ssc. ca. qov/wp-
content/uploads/sites/9/2020/08/20-01 hoq.pdf.
• FEMA's Best Practices Stories: South Napa
Earthquake documents best practices from the
August 2014 earthquake in Napa, California, such
as documenting the investment value of code-
related seismic retrofits, National Flood Insurance
Program Community Rating System flood
insurance discounts, successful retrofits that
saved historic buildings, and creative funding for
repairs and upgrades.
For more information, visit
https://cupdf.com/document/best-practices-
stories-south-napa-earthquake-dr-1493-best-24-
8-2014-best. html?paqe=2.
Figure 19. Photos of a secondary steel
structural support inside the historic Borreo
Building on Third Street in the city of Napa,
California, which survived a magnitude 6.0
earthquake on August 24, 2014, with minor
damage (Christopher Mardorf/FEMA).
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
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Example Funding Strategies and Incentives
Communities have used a wide range of funding strategies and incentives to promote resilient
and adaptable building retrofits, including:
Strategies and
Incentives
Examples
Tax Credits,
Transfer Taxes,
and Property-
Assessed
Financing
South Carolina Department of Insurance SC Safe Home Program
uses a multifaceted approach with tax credits for fortification retrofits
to increase structural resilience (e.g., roof-to-wall connections, brace
gable ends, secondary water barriers) and education.19
City of Berkeley Real Property Transfer Tax to Seismic Retrofit
Refund imposes a 1.5 percent property transfer tax on all sales or
transfers of property, one-third of which is available as a refund for
use within one year for voluntary eligible seismic upgrades.
• City of San Francisco Property Assessed Clean Energy financing
program helps property owners finance seismic upgrades and
environmentally conscious building improvements through a property
tax assessment backed by municipal bonds paid through an addition
to the regular property tax bill. The program provides 100 percent
financing, including permits, design, and inspections, for seismic
improvements complying with the Soft Story Mandatory Retrofit
Program.
Historic • Restore Oregon's Resilient Masonry Buildings: Saving Lives,
Building Livelihoods, and the Llvablllty of Oregon's Historic Buildings
Restoration documents the risks, obstacles, and planning for resilient historic
restorations.20
Insurance • FEMA's Community Rating System is a voluntary incentive program
Incentive encouraging communities to exceed the National Flood Insurance
Program Program's (NFIP's) minimum requirements, resulting in a
communitywide discount in flood insurance premiums. Solano
County, California, provides a case study of the benefits from
updating their multi-hazard mitigation plan, including communities
reaching a higher rating on NFIP's Community Rating System and a
lower premium rate for homeowners.21
19 South Carolina Department of Insurance, (n.d.). Brochures & Tools. https://doi.sc.gov/620/Brochures-Tools.
20 Restore Oregon. (2012). Resilient Masonry Buildings. http://restoreoreaon.ora/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/UPDATED-RQ-
Special-Report-Masonrv-Bldas-Final web.pdf.
21 FEMA. (n.d.). Best Practices Stories: South Napa Earthquake, DR-1493-CA. https://cupdf.com/document/best-practices-
stories-south-napa-earthquake-dr-1493-best-24-8-2014-best.html?paqe=2.
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1.1.4. Building Codes and Standards
Building codes and standards establish a basic set of minimum requirements for performance
and safety of buildings and facilities. Although codes generally address specific types of
hazards, their focus has historically been on life safety, rather than sustainability or resilience.
In some cases, and especially due to climate change, resilience planning is essential to ensure
safety and protect life.
In 2022, FEMA launched a Building Codes Strategy to advance the adoption and enforcement
of hazard-resistant building codes and standards for FEMA programs. The strategy promotes
integrating building codes and standards across FEMA, strengthening nationwide capability
and expertise, and driving public action.22 In addition, the White House announced a National
Initiative to Advance Building Codes to help communities adopt the latest building codes and
standards to help them increase their resilience to extreme weather events that are intensifying
due to climate change.23
The International Code Council (ICC) develops the most widely used model building codes
throughout the United States. Chapter 3 of the ICC Performance Code for Buildings and
Facilities provides "a framework to establish minimum levels to which buildings or facilities
should perform when subjected to events such as fires and natural hazards." The minimum
levels established by this chapter are based on the risks associated with "the use of the
building or facility, the intended function of the building or facility and the importance of the
building or facility to a community."
ICC recommends higher building standards for buildings with potentially large occupancies,
such as schools; power, water, and wastewater facilities; buildings containing significant
quantities of hazardous materials; and hospitals, health care, and emergency care facilities.
These codes can be applied to other types of buildings, including residential buildings, to
provide more resilient performance in disasters.24 Other code resources include:
• The International Green Construction Code, which contains provisions for more
sustainable and resilient commercial buildings.25
• State of Georgia's Construction Codes include two "permissive" code appendices ("R"
and "N") for residential and commercial disaster resilient construction, respectively.
22 FEMA. (2022). Building Codes Strategy, https://www.fema.aov/emeraencv-manaaers/risk-manaaement/buildina-
science/buildina-codes-strateav.
23 The White House (2022), National Initiative to Advance Building Codes, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefina-
room/statements-releases/2022/06/01/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-launches-initiative-to-modernize-buildinq-codes-
improve-climate-resilience-and-reduce-enerqy-costs/.
24 International Code Council (ICC). (2018). 2018 ICC Performance Code for Buildings and Facilities.
https://codes.iccsafe.ora/content/ICCPC2018/effective-use-of-the-international-code-council-performance-code-for-buildinas-
and-facilities.
25 ICC. (2018). International Green Construction Code, https://www.iccsafe.org/products-and-services/i-codes/2018-i-
codes/iqcc/.
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These Disaster Resilient Building Code Appendices are optional regulations relating to
hurricane, flood, and tornado damage and disasters.26
• Oregon's 2017 Residential Specialty Code allows the reuse of residential framing
lumber that is not damaged or cracked, which can reduce waste and support post-
disaster rebuilding efforts.27
Building codes and guidelines can advance disaster resilient building practices. State and local
governments in regions with more severe and/or more frequent hazard events sometimes
enact stricter requirements than model building codes. One example is more stringent
earthquake requirements in California.
Other disaster-specific examples include:
• Flooding and High Winds. The state of Georgia has a Permissive Disaster Resilient
Building Code. Provisions, which local jurisdictions must adopt to enforce them,
promote enhanced public health, safety, and general welfare in order to reduce public
and private property losses due to hazards and natural disasters associated with
flooding, high winds, and windborne debris.
• High Winds. The city of Moore, Oklahoma, has building codes for wind resistance.28
Following a devastating tornado outbreak in 2013, the city of Moore modified their
building codes to incorporate more stringent building practices for homes to be built to
withstand winds of 135 miles per hour (mph). The new research-based code provisions
address roof sheathing and nailing, maximum 16-inch spacing for roof and exterior wall
framing, hurricane clips or framing anchors on all roof framing connections, structural
sheathing and bracing for gable end walls, continuous plywood bracing, wind-resistant
garage doors, and other requirements.
• Tsunamis. The 2015 and 2018 editions of the International Building Code (IBC)
Appendix M Tsunami-Generated Flood Hazard provisions29 make tsunamis a required
consideration in planning, siting, and design of coastal structures in the five western
states subject to tsunamis.
• Hurricanes. After the devastating impacts from Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the state of
Florida established some of the most stringent storm-specific building codes in the
United States. Miami-Dade County adopted the new building codes, which includes
26 State of Georgia, (n.d.). Construction Codes, https://www.dca.qa.qov/local-qovernment-assistance/construction-codes-
industrialized-buildinqs/construction-codes.
27 State of Oregon. (2021). Oregon Residential Specialty Code. https://codes.iccsafe.orq/content/ORRSC2Q21P1/copvriqht.
28 City of Moore, OK. (2014). Ordinance No. 768 (14). https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/municipalcodeonline.com-
new/moore/ordinances/documents/1601324422 Qrdinance%20No.%20768%20f14).pdf.
29 ICC. (2018). 2018 IBC Appendix M, Tsunami-Generated Flood Hazard. https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IBC2018/appendix-
m-tsunami-qenerated-flood-hazard?site type=public.
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product approvals for construction materials, an updated safety inspection program, and
trainings.30
• Performance-Based Codes. Innovative performance-based codes, such as those
referenced in the National Institute of Building Sciences High Performance Building
Council's National Performance Based Design Guide, can support resilient design and
construction of new facilities and major repairs and alterations of existing buildings.31
Wildfire Protection Activities
A 2015 survey, conducted by the University of Oregon, looked at specific actions to improve
wildfire preparation across the western United States. The 116 community respondents,
across 70 communities (including 52 counties), answered questions regarding specific
wildlife protection activities that have been or were being conducted in their county. The
chart below depicts county survey results on the rates of community adoption of wildfire
planning and preparation activities and shows wildfire-related building codes or design
standards were the top wildfire planning and preparation activities, used by 55 percent of
counties surveyed.
Taxing district to help fund planning,
mitigation, or recovery actions
Enforcement mechanisms for codes and
- ^ ^ 40%
standards
Wildfire-related zoning 42%
Wildfire-related subdivision codes 54%
Wildfire-related building codes or design
standards 0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Figure 20. Examples of wildfire planning and preparation activities performed by counties in the
western United States.32
1.2. In Anticipation of Impending Natural Disasters
Preparing for disasters, even on short notice, can reduce the disaster's impacts on people and
communities, reduce disaster debris, and support faster and less costly recovery. The tips
below on disaster preparedness - both imminent and longer term - are excerpted from the
30 Overview of the Florida Building Code (n.d.). https://www.floridahousina.orq/docs/default-
source/aboutflorida/auaust2017/auaust2017/tab4.pdf. City of Miami, FL. (2024). About the Building Department.
https://www.miami.aov/Buildina-3/About-the-Buildina-Department?transfer=abd7e227-6f2f-4406-81ed-05875a2840f1.
31 National Institute of Building Sciences. (2014). National Performance Based Design Guide, https://www.wbda.ora/pbda/.
32 University of Oregon. (2015). Community Experiences with Wildfire: Actions, Effectiveness, Impacts, and Trends.
https://scholarsbank.uoreaon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/19162/WP 56.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=v.
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following guides developed by FEMA: Protect Your Property from High Winds,33 Be Prepared
for a Flood,34 Avoiding Wildfire Damage: A Checklist for Homeowners,35 and Earthquake
Safety at Home36
Disaster
Actions That Can Be Taken
High Wind
Events
• Inspect roofing for loose shingles or flashing (thin metal material that
directs water away from certain roof areas).
• Trim dead branches, remove dead trees, and properly manage the
removed material.
• Remove or tie down objects, furniture, toys, and materials stored outdoors
that could become windblown.
• Cover and secure windows and doors (e.g., with protective shutters).
• Properly anchor small outbuildings (e.g., sheds, playhouses) with straps
or ground anchors.
Floods
• Keep storm drains on and around property clear of debris and vegetation.
• Clean gutters and roof drains.
• In flood-prone areas, keep sandbags and other flood protection materials
on-hand to put around buildings.
• Remove or tie down outdoor objects like furniture and propane tanks.
• Install sump pumps with battery backup in basements or belowground
rooms.
• If floodwater is imminent, turn off gas, water, and electricity, if this can be
done safely.
Fires
• Remove dead or diseased trees and trim limbs, grass, and vegetation
away from buildings.
• Replace highly flammable vegetation, such as pine, evergreen,
eucalyptus, junipers, and fir trees, with low-growing ground cover and less
flammable species.
• Clear roof and gutters of leaves.
• Use fire-safe landscaping and fire-resistant building materials (e.g., metal
roofs and stucco).
33 FEMA. (2011). Protect Your Property from Severe Winds, https://www.fema.aov/sites/default/files/2020-11/fema protect-
vour-propertv severe-wind.pdf.
34 FEMA. (2014). Be Prepared for a Flood, https://www.readv.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/flood information-sheet.pdf.
35 FEMA. (n.d.). Avoiding Wildfire Damage: A Checklist for Homeowners.
https://www.fema.gov/pdf/hazard/wildfire/wdfrdam.pdf.
36 FEMA. (2020). Earthquake Safety at Home, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/fema earthquakes fema-p-
530-earthquake-safetv-at-home-march-2020.pdf.
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Disaster
Earthquakes
Actions That Can Be Taken
Replace rigid gas line connections with flexible ones where they enter the
building or connect to appliances.
Install seismic gas shutoff valves.
Identify and secure potentially dangerous objects (e.g., heavy furniture,
office equipment, filing cabinets, shelving) by strapping or attaching them
to walls to prevent them from falling.
Secure (e.g., install restraining wires, strips, or other mechanisms)
hazardous chemicals to prevent them from falling and spilling.
Replace magnetic latches on cabinet doors with mechanical latches
designed to assure they remain closed during severe shaking.
1.3. After Natural Disasters
After a natural disaster, communities may need to manage disaster debris from any damaged
buildings and repair and rebuild. Planning can facilitate the management of debris and post-
disaster rebuilding and should begin as soon as possible, even before a natural disaster
occurs, if possible.37 EPA developed an online All Hazards Waste Management Planning Tool,
available at https://wasteplan.epa.gov/welcome, to help communities create or update a
comprehensive disaster debris management plan for managing materials and wastes
generated from disasters. Rebuilding in the recovery phase after a disaster is an opportunity to
make the community more resilient for the next disaster.
To further support a circular economy, rebuilding efforts can potentially incorporate building
materials recovered following the disaster to repair or rebuild structures. Coordinating and
collaborating with interested parties ahead of disasters is essential to support planning and the
safe reuse and recycling of building materials during response and recovery. In addition to the
communities themselves, these interested parties include disaster planners, emergency
responders, recovery experts, community organization members, builders, building officials,
and solid and hazardous waste professionals, such as deconstruction, reuse, recycling,
composting, and state and local solid waste departments and environmental agencies.
Planning for disaster debris and rebuilding can also help foster the empowerment and
participation of communities with environmental justice concerns by creating opportunities for
social and economic inclusion and innovation, as communities with environmental justice
concerns are often left behind or left out of these conversations. Including them in decision-
making processes can ensure the alignment of circular economy solutions with local needs
and preferences. Communities should also consider the potential trade-offs and environmental
justice challenges, such as the displacement, exclusion, or exploitation of overburdened
communities, and unintended consequences or rebound effects of circular solutions. Education
and training programs can also equip communities with environmental justice concerns with
37 EPA. (2019). Planning for Natural Disaster Debris, https://www.epa.aov/homeland-securitv-waste/auidance-about-plannina-
natural-disaster-debris.
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the skills and knowledge to access and benefit from the circular economy and contribute to its
development.
1.3.1. Planning for Resilience and Waste Reduction
Through planning, communities can determine how they can rebuild more resiliently and
sustainably after a disaster. Planning efforts should include the best practices and strategies
discussed in Section 1.1. for new and existing buildings and should incorporate lessons
learned in past events. Planning efforts should also include plans to implement resilient
building codes and standards in order to generate less debris from natural disasters in the
future.
Waste Reduction at Disaster
Response Camps
Planning for waste reduction is
critical when anticipating natural
disasters. An example where
post-disaster recovery planning
occurs is at disaster response
camps, which are temporary
command posts where
emergency responders and
firefighters coordinate initial
emergency response and
firefighting activities, spend their
off time, eat, and sleep. They are
typically self-contained mini-cities
that are set up in less than a day.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service National Greening Fire Team
(GFT), winner of an EPA Federal Green Challenge Innovation award, established a vision of
achieving net zero waste, water, and energy at all large fire incidents by 2030 and a mission
of integrating sustainable operations best management practices into the fire community.
USDA has also issued guidance to reduce overall use of financial and natural resources
without compromising safety or impeding incident operations.
The GFT team researched, recommended, and assisted with implementing sustainability
best management practices in incident operations in addition to:
• Releasing a "Sustainable Operations in Incident Management—Preparing for the 2019
Fire Season" memo for senior leadership.
• Establishing a public-facing website, quarterly bulletin, webinar series, and Ambassador
Program to increase awareness of GFT's mission and to advance application of its
deliverables.
• Executing an Onsite Incident Recycling Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) - or
contract -spanning four Geographic Area Coordination Centers covering Arizona, New
Mexico, California, Oregon, and Washington.
Figure 21. Aerial view of a Forest Service fire camp (Alan Dyck/
U.S. Forest Service, https.V/www.nrel.gov/news/features/2016/forest-
service-turns-to-nrel-for-helD-fiahting-fires-more-sustainablv-1.html).
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Figure 22. Recycling station at a U. S. Forest Service fire camp.
The three-year BPA was ordered on nine fires in 2019 to:
• Standardize recycling equipment, signs, processes, and expectations so fire camp
personnel have a similar recycling experience on each camp, increasing efficacy and
engagement.
• Assure incident management teams that waste diversion services at fire camps would
improve waste management practices with less strain on in-house personnel,
• Standardize waste diversion reporting to capture and communicate waste reduction and
recycling results to achieve compliance with waste reduction directives, executive orders,
and laws.
The BPA has cut waste hauling costs by 50 to 80 percent, with a cost savings of up to
$18,000 per week, while conserving resources and reducing local community landfill
impacts.
Specific fire camp zero waste recommendations included:
• Use bulk water whenever possible. Bottled water costs more money and depletes
resources.
• Recycle as much as possible while at fire camp,
• Reduce food waste. When food goes to landfills, it rots and produces methane, a
greenhouse gas with 25 times the global warming potential compared to carbon dioxide
over a 100-year period.
• Avoid unnecessary vehicle idling in fire camps, which creates unnecessary pollution.
Firefighters take precautions to protect their lungs on the fire line; the same should be
done where they sleep and eat.
Forest Service Greening Fire Team Website
https://www.fs.usda.gov/manaqinq-land/fire/sustainable-ops
Contract/Blanket Purchase Agreement Information:
https://www.fs.usda.qov/manaqinq-land/fire/sustainable-ops/incident-recvclinq
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For debris that is generated, debris management plans should document how debris will be
safely and sustainably managed and waste will be reduced. These plans should also cover
activities, such as:
• Collection, temporary storage, and safe management of household and other
hazardous waste and waste with hazardous or harmful components, potentially
including electronics.
• Segregation of materials for safe reuse and recycling, including concrete and
asphalt recycling, and mulching or composting of clean unpainted lumber and
vegetative debris.
• Tracking and the documentation of debris managed in different ways, including
through reuse, recycling, mulching, composting and disposal, as well as
quantities, revenues, and costs.
• Planning and contracting with local or regional haulers, equipment operators,
recyclers, and other contractors capable of storing, collecting, transporting, and
processing disaster debris.
• Collection of information on key contacts and established networks of disaster
experts, training professionals, and community organizations.
• Certification procedures and documentation for qualified disaster recovery
personnel.
To effectively adapt strategies over time, a disaster recovery phase review and assessment
should be included in the planning process. This will support continuous learning and
communicating lessons learned with other communities and interested parties.
1.3.2. Using Salvaged Materials
A circular economy is supported by buildings that are not only designed for disassembly and
adaptation, but also by buildings that can be converted into stocks of materials or "material
banks" of resources for rebuilding, repairs, and upgrades. Using building materials recovered
following a disaster to repair or rebuild structures or to build disaster response sheds to
securely store response workers' belongings and supplies can reduce both environmental
impacts and costs of rebuilding. For example, clean, undamaged lumber can be reused, and
damaged concrete can be used as base, such as crushed aggregate material, in accordance
with all applicable codes and regulations. This reduces the environmental impacts of building
material production, transportation, and disposal, as well as the need to buy new lumber or
base material. This approach reduces waste and the embodied carbon emissions to
manufacture and transport building materials, which has been recognized by the U.S. General
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Services Administration (GSA) and building industry leaders as the next big sustainability
opportunity.38
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working to advance the data quality,
standardization, and disclosure of embodied carbon emissions associated with construction
materials and products. EPA is supporting material manufacturers and coordinating with other
federal agencies to develop robust data, tools, standards, and policies that facilitate
procurement of substantially lower embodied carbon materials and drive market change. In
addition to grants that support development of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
that disclose the environmental impacts of materials, EPA is also developing a Carbon
Labeling Program that will include only materials that meet stringent requirements in
demonstrating they are lower in embodied carbon compared to industry averages.
EPA is initially focusing efforts on traditionally carbon intensive materials, such as steel,
concrete, glass, and asphalt, that are common in the built environment and a large percentage
of federal construction expenditures. EPA is also prioritizing salvage and reuse of construction
materials to support a more circular economy. Since reusing materials largely avoids the
production impacts associated with virgin materials, reuse has the potential to drastically
reduce embodied carbon.
When entire structures cannot be rebuilt, opportunities to deconstruct and salvage building
materials exist. For example, in Alachua County, Florida, a home located in a floodplain was
deconstructed as part of a FEMA-funded buyout and the lumber was used to rebuild HUD
Section 8 affordable housing inland using current building codes.39
Figure 23.
Parielized
deconstruction was
used to deconstruct
a home in a
floodplain buyout in
Alachua County,
Florida, and the
lumber was used to
build new Section 8
affordable housing
inland (Brad Guy),
38 Memorandum for Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies. (2023). Advancing Climate Resilience through Climate-
Smart Infrastructure Investments and Implementation Guidance for the Disaster Resiliency Planning Act.
https://vwvw.wh itehouse.aov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/M-24-03-Advancina-Climate-Resilience-throuah-Climate-Smart-
lnfrastructure-lnvestments.pdf.
39 Presentation from Brad Guy at EPA's Resiliency and Natural Disaster Debris Workshops. (2021).
https://www.epa.qov/homeland-securitv-waste/resiliencv-and-natural-disaster-debris-workshops.
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Opportunities to advance large-scale building reuse are growing as communities, such as
Portland, Oregon40 and Palo Alto, California,41 adopt successful mandatory deconstruction
policies, and communities work to find the highest and best use of materials and keep organic
material, including wood, out of landfills. GSA's Federal Center South project that used nearly
200,000 board feet of structural and nonstructural lumber from an adjacent warehouse is a
great example of reuse at scale. Some green building rating systems have also incorporated
credits related to design for deconstruction, adaptation, and flexibility.42
Figure 24. The Federal Center South U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District
Headquarters building is a LEED Gold
building completed by GS/\ in 2012, using
nearly 200,000 board feet of structural and
nonstructural lumber from an adjacent
warehouse that was deconstructed (Theresa
Blaine. EPA).
https://www.zgf.eom/work/1136-u-s-general-
ser/ices-administration-federal-center-south-
building-1202.
Climate change hazards, such as sea level rise, will put many buildings that have not yet been
damaged in harm's way. Investing in planning, infrastructure, and policies to reclaim those
buildings and their valuable materials to rebuild inland is a circular economy opportunity that
can both reduce embodied carbon emissions associated with new materials and provide local
green building jobs and job training.43
After disasters such as hurricanes Katrina and Irene, organizations, including Mercy Corps and
the Building Goodness Foundation, safely deconstructed homes to rebuild, repair, and develop
disaster recovery sheds.44 An important outcome for those impacted by the disaster: they
40 City of Portland, Oregon. (2022). Deconstruction. https://www.portland.aov/bps/climate-action/decon.
41 City of Palo Alto, California. (2022). Deconstruction & Construction Materials Management.
https://www.citvofpaloalto.orq/Departments/Public-Works/Zero-V\/aste/Zero-Waste-Requirements-Guidelines/Deconstruction-
Const ruction-Materials-Manaqement.
42 Lifecycle Building Challenge. (2013). Rating Systems, http://www.lifecvclebuildinq.org/ratinq-svstems.php.
43 EPA. (2021). Resiliency and Natural Disaster Debris Workshop Final Summary Report.
https://www.epa.qov/svstem/files/documents/2022-03/final-epa-rndd-summarv-report 12.02,21 web 508 compliant.pdf.
44 Denhart, H. (2010). Deconstructing Disaster: Economic and Environmental Impacts of Deconstruction in Post-Katrina New
Orleans. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 54(3), 194-204.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S09213449090Q1712.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris Section 1
received deconstruction job training, meaningful work, and income, as well as overall help with
disaster recovery.45
45 Denhart, H. (2009). Deconstructing Disaster: Psycho-Social Impact of Building Deconstruction in Post-Katrina New Orleans.
Cities, 26(4), 195-201. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264275109000572.
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Section 2
Section 2. Lessons Learned from Natural Disasters
Lessons learned from community experiences in responding to natural disasters, such as
using existing resources, debris segregation, and clear and consistent communication, have all
proven to be essential practices in making debris prevention and management as efficient as
possible. More information on best management practices based on past disasters is found in
EPA's Planning for Natural Disaster Debris guide (https://www.epa.gov/homeland-securitv-
waste/quidance-about-planning-natural-disaster-debris). Below are some examples of lessons
learned from natural disasters and recommendations for creating more adaptable and resilient
buildings and infrastructure.
2.1. Extreme Coastal Storm Events
There has been a substantial increase in the severity and frequency of hurricane and typhoon
activity in the Atlantic since the 1980s, and there are more catastrophic typhoons and
hurricanes in the Pacific Islands area, including the U.S. territories of Guam, American Samoa,
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, than in any other place on earth.46
Climate change impacts are also expanding the range of locations that can experience
hurricanes. Increases in the severity and frequency of these storm events will affect buildings
and increase exposure and vulnerability, thereby increasing the impacts of these disaster
events.47 Increased debris quantities will be challenging to manage, and damage to buildings
and infrastructure will be costly to repair, particularly in rural areas. Without resilient and
adaptive building strategies, the negative impacts and costs will continue to rise.48
Disaster Example: Typhoon Soudelor,
Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands
In the summer of 2015, Typhoon
Soudelor hit Saipan, an island in the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands with a population of
approximately 48,000 people. It was the
strongest typhoon of the 2015 Pacific
typhoon season, and it caused severe
damage and 40 fatalities in the Pacific
Figure 25. Historical storm tracks in the Pacific Islands area.
46 National Climate Assessment. (2018). Fourth National Climate Assessment, https://nca2018.alobalchanae.gov/.
47 Ibid.
48 Ibid.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
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Islands and Asia. The Category 5 storm had
sustained winds of 130 mph and gusts of
more than 160 mph.49
An assessment found that Typhoon Soudelor
impacted over 1100 homes. Of this total,
almost 600 were completely destroyed or had
sustained major damage. About 600 people
sought shelter due to damaged homes.50 On
Saipan, all of the homes destroyed or
damaged had been constructed using
outdated building codes.
In the first few weeks after the storm, almost
no municipal power or drinking water were
available to island residents, and it took nearly
three months for residents to regain basic
services. The typhoon destroyed
approximately half the island's primary power
distribution system. In addition, the island's power plant lost part of its roof and was flooded.
The storm also knocked down many trees and 188 utility poles, which damaged 733
transformers and made many roads impassable.
Figure 26. Waste caused by Typhoon Soudelor
included 733 transformer carcasses and six drums
of transformer oil contaminated with polychlorinated
biphenyls, or PCBs.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, the government of Guam, the Guam Power
Authority, and other entities provided emergency supplies and restored services. EPA led
efforts to safely reuse, recycle, mulch, and dispose of the disaster debris generated.
The local power company, Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, had only 77 replacement
power poles and no replacement transformers. Repairs to the electric grid, water supply
network, and wastewater systems took months.
49 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (n.d.). National Centers for Environmental Information Storm Events
Database. https://www.ncdc.noaa.qov/stormevents/eventdetails.isp?id=601887.
50 "Red Cross Updates Saipan Relief Efforts," Maui Now, August 16, 2015, https://mauinow. com/2015/08/16/red-cross-
updates-saipan-relief-efforts/.
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Figure 27. Corrugated metal roofing separated for
recycling in a designated staging area after Typhoon
Soudelor in Saipan.
Figure 28, Clean wood and vegetative debris chipped
into mulch and given away to the public following
Typhoon Soudelor.
Lessons Learned: Typhoon Soudelor
Category
Issue
Recommendations
Post-Disaster
Recovery
Planning
Resilient building and
zoning requirements
were not in place to
limit future disaster
impacts
• Develop and enact resilient building code
requirements addressing the types of disasters
found in the area
Power Poles
and
Transformers
Damage to
transformers and to
utility poles made of
treated wood
• Replace treated wood poles with storm-
resistant power poles made of concrete or
composite material
Management of wood
utility pole
• Over 90 percent of damaged utility poles were
reused for a variety of purposes, including
fence posts, parking blocks, retaining walls,
landscape timbers, and non-residential
building materials
• Note: Do not reuse treated utility poles for
residential building materials or in applications
that may come into contact with food or
drinking water
Utility had limited
replacement power
poles and no
replacement
transformers
• Store additional replacement utility poles and
transformers
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Section 2
Category
Issue
Recommendations
Power Plants
Power plant lost part of
roof and flooded
• Use typhoon-resistant building techniques and
roofing for key facilities. Install emergency floor
drains
• Raise key utility equipment above anticipated
flood levels when possible
Circular
Economy:
Disaster
Debris
Reduce generation of
waste through building
and facility siting and
design
• Use appropriate siting, planning, design, and
disaster-resilient building techniques to reduce
the generation of disaster debris from
anticipated future disasters
• Incorporate disaster-resistant siting and
building practices in building codes and zoning
requirements
Reuse, recycling, food
recovery, and
composting
• Designated staging sites collected 49,388
cubic yards of vegetative debris, lumber, and
tin for mulching and recycling
• Develop plan for covered storage areas to
support reuse of undamaged building materials
and assemblies
• Develop a plan, in cooperation with local
recycling and compost facilities, specifying
which materials can safely be recycled (e.g.,
metal, paper, appliances) and mulched or
composted (e.g., clean wood waste, vegetative
debris)
• Develop a plan, in cooperation with local food
recovery facilities, for safe food recovery
associated with power outages (e.g., animal
feeding, composting, anaerobic digestion)
• Follow successful model of using onsite
segregation and chipping of clean vegetative
debris to give away to residents
• Require tracking of volumes and/or weights of
recovered and discarded materials
Hardfill disposal • Construct and plan to use a permitted hardfill
capacity51 site instead of valuable Resource
51 Hardfill means a method of compaction and earth cover of solid wastes other than those containing garbage or other
putrescible (putrescent) waste, including, but not limited to, demolition material and like materials, not constituting a health or
nuisance hazard, where cover need not be applied on a per day used basis. No combustible materials shall be deposited in a
hardfill.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Section 2
Category
Issue
Recommendations
Conservation and Recovery Act Subtitle D52
permitted landfill facilities to dispose of non-
hazardous disaster debris that cannot be
reused, recycled, fed to animals, mulched,
composted, or anaerobically digested
Household hazardous
• Reduce the amount of HHW used and stored
waste (HHW)
in homes to reduce potential health risks
during and after typhoons53
• Move HHW storage off floors and unsecured
areas to secured storage above anticipated
flood levels
• Designate drop-off areas for HHW and develop
clear lists of HHW, electronics, and appliances
accepted through post-disaster outreach,
including press releases, signs, and events
2.2. Wildfire and Fire Events
Changes in temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, and other phenomena are causing
extreme wildfire events that are creating new risks to communities. More intense droughts and
warmer temperatures cause larger wildfires and longer fire seasons, and they generate even
larger amounts of debris.54 For example, heavy rainfall in an area devastated by wildfires can
increase the possibility of massive mudslides due to destroyed vegetation on slopes.
52 A Subtitle D landfill is a Municipal Solid Waste Landfill specifically designed to receive household waste, as well as other
types of nonhazardous wastes.
53 U.S. EPA. (n.d.). Reducing HHWin Your Home, https://www.epa.gov/hw/household-hazardous-waste-
hhw#Reducehttps://www. epa.aov/hw/household-hazardous-waste-hhw.
54 National Climate Assessment. (2018). Fourth National Climate Assessment, https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Disaster Example: Wildfires in California
Section 2
Figure 29. La Tuna Canyon Fire with the city of Los Angeles in the foreground, 2017 (Source: Los Angeles Fire
Department).
In 2017 alone, over 9,000 fires in California burned more than 1.2 million acres, which is a
dramatic increase from the previous year when fires statewide burnt about 564,000 acres,
according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). Due to
climate change, wildfires are expected to continue increasing in intensity and frequency in
California.55 More than 1.1 million structures, or roughly one out of every ten buildings in
California, lie within the highest risk fire zones in maps drawn by CAL FIRE.
The combination of dry and windy weather, continuous fuels, and proximity to residential
development creates a strong potential for wildfires to burn homes. In 2017, CAL FIRE listed
more than 5,700 residential properties in California as total losses due to wildfires and over
15,000 residential properties as partial losses. Specifically, the Tubbs Fire claimed 22 lives,
charred over 36,000 acres in the state's wine country, and destroyed 5,643 structures in
Northern California's Sonoma and Napa counties. In November of 2018, the Camp Fire in
Butte County burned over 153,336 acres, destroying over 18,800 structures and claiming 85
55 U.S. EPA. (n.d.) California Prepares for Increased Wildfire Risk to Air Quality from Climate Change.
https://www.epa.qov/arc-x/california-prepares-increased-wildfire-risk-air-qualitv-climate-chanqe.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Section 2
lives, making this the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history.56 In August 2020,
the August Complex fire (which originated as 38 separate fires started by lightning strikes)
became the largest wildfire in California's recorded history, burning over 1,032,648 acres in the
coastal range of Northern California.57 The Dixie Fire in July 2021 became the largest single
source wildfire in California history, burning over 963,309 acres in Northern California and
damaging over 1,329 structures.58
USDA
Wildfire Hazard Potential
Version 2023 The WHP map S a product of (he USDA Forest Service, fins Modeimg Institute, for m
• httpv//w\w».firciab.onj/prc7Cct/wWinj-h«,flrd-potonUal
0 250 500
Miles
I—I—I
0 50 100
Dilton, Gregory K. 2023. Wildfire Hazard Potential for the United States, version 2023
(270m). 4th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive.
https://doi.ora/10.2737/RDS-20tS-0047-4.
• non-burnable agricultural fields, perennial snow/Ice, and bare ground
0 250 500 Kilometers
Wildfire Hazard
Potential
I Very Low
I I Low
I l Moderate
I I High
| Very High
I I Non-burnable*
Water
Developed
Figure 30. Dillon, G.K. (2023), Wildfire Hazard Potential. https://www. firelab.org/Droieci/wildfire-hazard-Dotential.
EPA provided support to FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and state and local
partners in a joint response to the Northern California wildfires.
56 CAL FIRE, (n.d.) Remembering the Camp Fire, https://www.fire.ca.aov/our-impact/rememberina-the-camp-fire.
57 CAL FIRE. (2022). Top 20 Largest California Wildfires. https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-
endDoint.azureedae.net/-/media/calfire-website/our-impact/fire-statistics/toD-20-laraest-ca-
wildfires. Ddf?rev=037e566cdfd540b9a9fe607b809b855c&hash=D7AC28D89B9F8FE36F3C7E5958CEE016.
58 Ibid.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Section 2
EPA led the survey, collection, and disposal of household hazardous waste at nearly 7,000
residential and commercial parcels affected by the fires in Sonoma and Napa counties. This
work cleared the way for proper removal of ash and debris, allowing the rebuilding process to
begin, EPA also removed asbestos from burned properties and collected and disposed of
hazardous drums and containers.
Figure 31. An EPA team member removes HHW during the Agency's response to
the Northern California wildfires. Coffey Park, Santa Rosa, California.
Lessons Learned: Wildfires in California
Category
Issue
Recommendations
Address
Markings
Lack of clear address markings
to help first responders and
post-fire cleanup efforts
• Mark addresses with numbers more
than 3 inches tall and with curb
painting
• Note: Check with local government and
community associations for curb
painting requirements
Power
Lines
Aging power lines with
overgrown trees
• Maintain and update power lines and
ensure trees are trimmed around the
power lines
Debris and
Vegetation
Debris and vegetation around
homes acted as tinder
• Clear flammable debris, leaves,
branches, and other vegetation around
the house perimeter
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Section 2
Category
Issue
Recommendations
Post-Fire
Recovery
Resilient building and zoning
requirements were not in place
to limit future disaster impacts
• Develop and enact resilient building
code requirements addressing the
types of disasters found in the area
Plastic storm drains melted,
resulting in post-fire flooding and
landslide concerns
• Install concrete or steel storm drain
infrastructure
Plastic septic tank covers
melted, making tanks unsafe for
fire response crews and
homeowners; some recovery
workers fell into septic tanks
• Install concrete septic tank covers
Household Hazardous Waste
(HHW) management
• Reduce the amount of HHW used and
stored in homes to reduce potential
health risks during and after fires59
59 U.S. EPA. (n.d.). Reducing HHWin Your Home, https://www.epa.qov/hw/household-hazardous-waste-hhw#Reduce
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Conclusion
Conclusion
The need for effective natural and sustainable disaster debris management is growing rapidly
as the frequency and intensity of disasters continue to increase. Considering the cost and
community impacts associated with response and recovery, developing effective strategies to
plan for, mitigate, and respond to natural disaster debris is critical to helping all communities
become more resilient. Incorporating resilient building design and best practices are important
strategies for mitigating disaster debris, creating resilient communities, and advancing a
circular economy and environmental justice.
Every step of building planning, design, retrofit, and post-disaster deconstruction and
reconstruction presents opportunities to revisit building practices and embrace new
approaches, such as designing for increased resiliency and increasing safe reuse, recycling,
and composting to reduce waste and embodied carbon.
Communities can adapt the strategies and best practices in this document to each disaster
event they experience now and in the future. Planning for a climate event is critical to
minimizing disruption to a community, conserving resources, and generating less disaster
debris. In addition, planning for and developing healthy, disaster resilient buildings can reduce
waste and conserve valuable resources over the life cycle of a built environment—including
the post-disaster response and rebuilding phases—to protect the health of building occupants
and disaster responders.
Creating disaster-resilient buildings to minimize disaster debris should be guided by
environmental justice principles and values and informed by the perspectives and experiences
of communities with environmental justice concerns. This work can have positive
environmental justice impacts by reducing the vulnerability and enhancing the resilience of
these communities to natural disasters and climate events and by promoting their agency and
equity in the circular transition. It is critical to ensure that communities with environmental
justice concerns are not left behind or left out of these conversations and decisions.
EPA is interested in learning about your resilient building experiences and recommendations.
We welcome feedback at
https://www.epa.gov/homeland-securitv-waste/forms/contact-us-about-managing-materials-
and-wastes-homeland-securitv.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Additional Resources
Additional Resources
EPA Resources
Disaster Debris Planning Website. The website provides EPA reports and resources on
large-scale residential disaster debris management, https://www.epa.gov/large-scale-
residential-demolition/disaster-debris-planninq.
All-Hazards Waste Management Planning Tool. The online tool assists emergency
managers and planners in creating or updating comprehensive, pre-incident plans for
managing waste and materials generated from manmade and natural disasters.
https://wasteplan.epa.gov/welcome.
Guidance about Planning for Natural Disaster Debris. This guidance assists communities
in planning for natural disaster debris before a disaster occurs by providing information,
including the recommended components of a debris management plan and suggested
management options for various debris streams, that is intended to increase community
preparedness and resiliency, https://www.epa.gov/homeland-securitv-waste/guidance-about-
planning-natural-disaster-debris.
Resiliency and Natural Disaster Debris Workshop Final Summary Report. Suggested
actions from workshop participants to advance equity and resiliency in planning for and
managing natural disaster debris, including buildings impacted by sea level rise.
http://www.epa.gov/homeland-securitv-waste/resiliencv-and-natural-disaster-debris-
workshops.
Disaster Resilient Design Concepts. This document showcases disaster-resilient designs,
organized by hazard type, to help communities reduce the impact of disasters, recover more
quickly, strengthen local economies, and create safer, more equitable places to live by
reducing hazards especially for those most vulnerable.
https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/disaster-resilient-design-concepts.
Disaster Debris Recovery Tool. An interactive mapping tool of 12 types of recyclers and
landfills that manage disaster debris. This tool provides information for all 50 states, Puerto
Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands for over 20,000 facilities capable of managing different
materials that may be found in disaster debris and can be used to support disaster planning
and emergency response, http://www.epa.gov/large-scale-residential-demolition/disaster-
debris-recoverv-tool.
Smart Growth Strategies for Disaster Resilience and Recovery Website. Site sharing EPA
resources, agreements, and publications related to disaster resilience smart growth strategies.
https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/smart-growth-strategies-disaster-resilience-and-recoverv.
Environmental Resilience: Exploring Scientific Concepts for Strengthening Community
Resilience to Disasters. Report exploring scientific concepts for building an index of
indicators of community environmental resilience to natural or human-caused disasters. The
index could be used to support disaster decision-making.
https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si public record report.cfm?dirEntrvlD=310052.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Additional Resources
Sustainable Management of Construction and Demolition Materials. Information on
construction and demolition materials often present after disasters and the benefits of reuse
and recycling of building materials, https://www.epa.gov/smm/sustainable-management-
construction-and-demolition-materials.
Analysis of the Life Cycle Impacts and Potential for Avoided Impacts Associated with
Single-Family Home. Analysis on how recovered construction and demolition materials from
single-family homes that are reused in building, road construction and other applications help
offset the environmental impacts associated with single-family homes.
http://www.epa.gov/smm/analvsis-lifecvcle-impacts-and-potential-avoided-impacts-associated-
single-familv-homes.
Construction and Demolition Materials in America. National and state reports on the types
and quantities of construction and demolition materials that can be helpful in estimating the
types and quantities of materials generated by disasters.
https://www.epa.gov/smm/sustainable-management-construction-and-demolition-
materials#America.
Managing and Transforming Waste Streams - A Tool for Communities. Examples and
resources for transforming waste streams in communities, including zero waste strategies and
construction and demolition debris management models, https://www.epa.gov/transforming-
waste-tool/browse-examples-and-resources-transforming-waste-streams-communities.
Deconstruction Rapid Assessment Tool. Enables organizations to assess buildings
damaged in a disaster or slated for demolition by assembling data that can help prioritize
structures for deconstruction and salvage, https://www.epa.gov/large-scale-residential-
demolition/deconstruction-rapid-assessment-tool.
Best Practices for Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling Construction and Demolition
Materials. Information on designing buildings for deconstruction, reuse, and recycling.
https://www.epa.gov/smm/best-practices-reducing-reusing-and-recvcling-construction-and-
demolition-materials.
Harmful Materials and Residential Demolition. Information on hazardous materials that may
be present in building-related disaster debris such as lead-based paint, asbestos, mercury-
containing devices and lights, refrigerant-containing appliances, and mold.
https://www.epa.gov/large-scale-residential-demolition/harmful-materials-and-residential-
demolition.
Biomimicry
Biomimicry: Designing to Model Nature. National Institute of Standards and Technology's
(NIST's) Whole Building Design Guide website discusses the concept of biomimicry, relevant
codes and standards, and related resources, https://www.wbdg.org/resources/biomimicrv-
designing-model-nature.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Additional Resources
Design for Deconstruction, Disassembly, Reuse, and Adaptation
EPA Fact Sheets on Designing for the Disassembly and Deconstruction of Buildings.
Fact sheets highlighting the innovative approaches, results, and environmental and economic
benefits from pilot projects that may be replicated across various sectors, industries,
communities, and regions, https://www.epa.gov/smm/fact-sheets-designing-disassemblv-and-
deconstruction-buildings.
American Institute of Architects, Buildings that Last: Design for Adaptability,
Deconstruction, and Reuse. A practice guide on being more intentional about the flexibility of
a structure, so buildings can hold neighborhoods together, encourage social equity, and
contribute to community resilience for extended periods of time.
https://content.aia.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/ADR-Guide-final O.pdf
City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation, Treasure in the Walls: Reclaiming
Value Though Material Reuse in San Antonio. An assessment of opportunities for a local
government to transition from a linear economy model to a circular economy to allow the City
to recover and leverage existing assets to meet its stated economic, equity, sustainability,
waste diversion, and housing goals.
http://www.sanantonio.goV/Portals/0/Files/HistoricPreservation/Deconstruction/Treasure%20in
%20the%20Walls.pdf?ver=2021-04-25-115830-417.
Google and Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Accelerating the Circular Economy through
Commercial Deconstruction and Reuse. An initial exploration into the importance of
deconstructing commercial buildings and reuse of building materials for an increasingly circular
built environment based on insights from over 25 interviews with leading deconstruction and
reuse experts, primarily in the U.S. and Europe.
http://www.gstatic.com/gumdrop/sustainabilitv/google-deconstruction-and-reuse.pdf.
Lifecycle Building Challenge. A past EPA, American Institute of Architects, and Building
Materials Reuse Association competition cataloging built projects and designs that promote
adaptation, reuse, and portability. Includes an extensive list of resources and related building
rating systems credits, http://www.lifecvclebuilding.org/.
Public Architecture, Design for Reuse Primer. With U.S. Green Building Council funding,
Public Architecture developed a Design for Reuse Primer, featuring 15 detailed reuse and
design for reuse project case studies.
https://issuu.com/publicarchitecture/docs/design for reuse primer issuu.
Federal Center South Building 1202, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District
Headquarters. Project that reused approximately 200,000 board feet of lumber from an
adjacent warehouse structurally and non-structurally. https://www.zgf.eom/work/1136-u-s-
general-services-administration-federal-center-south-building-1202.
EPA, Design for Deconstruction Manual. This handbook presents an overview of basic
Design for Deconstruction principles and outlines the implementation of these principles in the
design of Chartwell School in Seaside, California, http://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-
11/documents/designfordeconstrmanual.pdf.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Additional Resources
Organizations Supporting Building Materials Reuse and Recycling
All for Reuse. A network of building professionals committed to the reuse of commercial
building materials, http://www.allforreuse.org/.
Bay Area Deconstruction Workgroup. A group of deconstruction and reuse leaders that
meet quarterly from government, private, and nonprofit sectors working to improve policies and
practices advancing safe building materials recovery and reuse.
http://www. stopwaste. org/B AD WG.
Build Reuse. A nonprofit educational and research organization that advances the recovery,
reuse, and recycling of building materials, https://www.buildreuse.org/.
C40 Cities. A global network of mayors taking urgent action to confront the climate crisis and
create a future where everyone can thrive, https://www.c40.org/. The group developed an
implementation guide on how to start deconstructing and stop demolishing your city's
buildings. http://www.c40knowledgehub.org/s/article/How-to-start-deconstructing-and-stop-
demolishing-vour-citvs-buildings?language=en US.
Construction & Demolition Recycling Association. Association that promotes the
environmentally sound recycling of recoverable construction and demolition materials.
https://cdrecvcling.org/.
BAMB - Buildings as Material Banks. The EU-funded BAMB project brings 15 parties
throughout Europe together for one mission - enabling a systemic shift in the building sector
by creating circular solutions. Their research and publications are under "Pilots" and "Library."
http://www.bamb2020.eu/.
Habitat for Humanity Restore. Home improvement stores and donation centers
independently operated by local Habitat for Humanity organizations that sell new and used
building materials, furniture, appliances, and more, http://www.habitat.org/restores.
US Composting Council. Nonprofit trade and professional organization promoting the
recycling of organic materials through composting, https://compostingcouncil.org/.
Codes and Standards
Codes (General)
Codes And Standards Development. Provides an overview of building codes and standards.
http://www.wbdg.org/resources/codes-and-standards-development.
ICC Performance Code for Buildings and Facilities. Provides "a framework to establish
minimum levels to which buildings or facilities should perform when subjected to events such
as fires and natural hazards" in Chapter 3 of the Code document.
https://codes.iccsafe.Org/s/ICCPC2015/chapter-1-general-administrative-provisions-
2/ICCPC2015-UsersGuide-Pt01.
California Wildland Hazards and Building Codes. Provides information related to using
building construction methods that reduce the likelihood of building ignition in conjunction with
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Additional Resources
maintaining defensible space to reduce the severity of potential wildfire exposure.
https://osfm.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/code-development-and-analvsis/wildland-hazards-and-
building-codes.
National Fire Protection Association, List of Codes and Standards. Consensus-based and
peer reviewed standards on a variety of topics, including wildland fire protection and
management and reducing structure ignition hazards from wildland fire.
https://www.nfpa.org/en/For-Professionals/Codes-and-Standards/List-of-Codes-and-
Standards#ag=%40culture%3D%22en%22&cg=%40tagtype%3D%3D(%22Standards%20Dev
elopment%20Process%22)%20%20&numberQfResults=12&sortCriteria=%40computedproduc
tid%20ascending%2C%40productid%20ascendinghttps://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-
standards/nfpa-1140-standard-development/1140.
Research
Buildings as Material Banks: Framework for Policies, Regulations and Standards.
European Union roadmap for changes that will allow the transformation of the industry to
circular principles through a set of recommendations to guide policymakers.
http://www.bamb2020.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/BAMB-Framework-for-Policies-
Regulations-and-Standards-with-appendices.pdf.
Buildings as Material Banks: State of the Art Report on Policies and Standards.
European Union overview of current policy instruments relevant to promoting, or possibly
hindering, the adoption of circular economy opportunities in the built environment. The analysis
covers the European level and Belgium, Portugal, Sweden and UK at the country level.
http://www.bamb2020.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/State-of-the-art-report-on-Policies-and-
Standards V2.pdf.
Voluntary Resilience Standards: An Assessment of the Emerging Market for Resilience
in the Built Environment. Report developed for the Energy, Kresge, and Barr foundations
that provides in-depth information about standards, organizations, and methodologies for
addressing resilience. https://cadmusgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/MCG-Voluntarv-
Resilience-Standards-Report.pdf.
Living Building Challenge: Code, Regulatory and Systemic Barriers Affecting Living
Building Projects report. Cascadia Region Green Building Council report addressing many
building code issues for more resilient green building projects, https://living-future.org/wp-
content/uploads/2022/05/Code-Regulatorv-Svstemic-Barriers-Affecting-LB-Proiects.pdf.
Systems and Standards
RELi. A national consensus, American National Standards Institute-approved resilience rating
system that will become a global rating system under the U.S. Green Building Council's
guidance. The system, patterned on LEED, prescribes methods for designing more resilient
buildings, neighborhoods, and communities to better withstand events such as hurricanes,
super storms, drought, heat waves, earthquakes, and social volatility.
https://c3livingdesign.org/reli-resilientdesign/.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Additional Resources
U.S. Resiliency Council Building Rating System. Rating system that identifies expected
impacts of an earthquake or other hazards on buildings and considers the performance of a
building's structure; its mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems; and architectural
components such as cladding, windows, partitions, and ceilings. The rating system
assigns one to five stars along the dimensions of safety, damage expressed as repair cost,
and recovery expressed as time to regain basic function, https://www.usrc.org/usrc-rating-
system/.
Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety's FORTIFIED Standards. Research- and
locality-based standards for building more resilient structures.
https://f0rtifiedh0me.0rg/https://disastersafetv.0rg/.
Disaster Resilience Strategies
General
Catalog of FEMA Building Science Resources. A catalog compiled by FEMA's Building
Science and Earthquake and Wind Programs Branches of available FEMA publications for
natural hazards, including earthquake, flood, high wind, and hurricane.
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema building-science-catalog 12-29-
21.pdf.
Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation. Climate Mapping for Resilience and
Adaptation (CMRA) helps people assess their local exposure to climate-related hazards.
Understanding exposure is the first step in determining which people, property, and
infrastructure could be injured or damaged by climate-related hazards and what options might
be available to protect these assets, https://resilience.climate.gov/.
Climate Smart Brownfields Manual: This manual helps communities think about climate
mitigation, adaptation, and resilience in the context of brownfield cleanup and redevelopment.
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-
06/documents/final climate smart brownfields manual 6-10-21 508 complaint.pdf.
Resilient Design Institute. A national nonprofit organization committed to advancing
sustainability through a focus on resilience in our buildings and communities, providing
accessible information and case studies, http://www.resilientdesign.org/.
Exploring Resilient Building Design. An Architecture and Construction Center free online
continuing education course with examples and case studies of innovative resilient strategies.
https://continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com/courses/multi-aia/exploring-resilient-building-
design/1/.
American Institute of Architects Disaster Assistance Handbook, Fourth Edition.
Comprehensive guidance for both architects and citizens involved in disaster planning and
response, https://www.aia.org/resource-center/disaster-assistance-handbook.
American Institute of Architects Resilience Website. Professional association articles and
information on resilient design, http://www.aia.org/topics/56-resilience.
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Additional Resources
Ready to Respond: Strategies for Multifamily Building Resilience. Enterprise's detailed
collection of practical resilience strategies for multifamily and other building types.
https://www.enterprisecommunitv.org/resources/readv-respond-strategies-multifamilv-building-
resilience-13356.
National Trust for Historic Preservation 10 Steps to Mitigate Natural Disaster Damage.
Toolkit to help historic property owners minimize the impact to their building and strengthen
their building's resistance to extreme wind, rain, and other climatic forces.
https://savingplaces.org/stories/10-tips-to-mitigate-natural-disaster-damage.
Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety DisasterSafety.org Website. The website
features projects to help home and business owners protect their property from damage
caused by natural disasters, https://disastersafetv.org/.
For Earthquakes
Techniques for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings. FEMA's selected
compilation of seismic rehabilitation techniques that are practical and effective.
https://www.fema.gov/node/technigues-seismic-rehabilitation-existing-buildings.
Homeowner's Guide to Earthquake Safety. The California Safety Commission's guide for
addressing residential building earthquake safety, including examples of damage, insurance
information, recommendations, and earthquake maps. https://ssc.ca.gov/wp-
content/uploads/sites/9/2020/08/20-01 hog.pdf.
• Spanish version https://ssc.ca.goV/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/Home-Owners-
Guide-Spanish-Finalv2.pdf.
For High-Wind Events
Whole Building Design Guide, Wind Safety of the Building Envelope. NIST's
comprehensive information about wind forces and interactions, vulnerabilities, priorities, costs,
benefits, design, details, and more, https://www.wbdg.org/resources/wind-safetv-building-
envelope.
Resilient Design Guide: High Wind Wood Frame Construction Edition. Federal Alliance
for Safe Homes' extensive guidance from basic structural concepts of wind forces to detailed
information about each part of a wood frame home. The guide provides information on three
levels: ordinary, high wind, and resilient construction with basic cost and difficulty comparisons
for the recommendations, https://flash.org/wp-
content/uploads/1/2023/05/resilientdesignguide.pdf.
Florida Division of Emergency Management's Hurricane Retrofit Guide. Information on
hazards and risks and provides a range of practical methods to minimize wind and water
damage to homes. Site includes comprehensive guidance for roof-to-wall connections
including Gable End Bracing, Wood Frame Walls, Masonry Walls, Narrow Garage Walls, Roof
Structure, and Water Leaks Through Walls, https://apps.floridadisaster.org/hrg/index.asp.
South Carolina Safe Home Mitigation Techniques Resources Document. State
Department of Insurance program providing guidance on hurricane fortification, including gable
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Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris
Additional Resources
end wall bracing techniques, as well as grant funding to homeowners to make retrofitting
owner-occupied, single-family homes more resistant to hurricane and high-wind damage.
https://doi.sc.gov/fag.aspx?gid=235.
For Floods
EPA Green Infrastructure. Tools, planning, design, research, and funding resources for
supporting resilient green infrastructure, http://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure.
NOAA Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper. A community screening-level tool with existing
national data that are locally relevant. The mapper was developed to start a conversation
around coastal flood hazard risks and associated vulnerabilities.
https://www.coast.noaa.goV/floodexposure/#/splash.
Floodproofing Non-Residential Buildings. FEMA guidance document on dry floodproofing
technologies for non-residential buildings, as well as an overview of wet floodproofing and the
use of levees and floodwalls. The publication provides a vulnerability checklist and information
about regulatory requirements, design considerations, and floodproofing equipment.
http://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/fema p-936 floodproofing non-
residential buiildings 110618pdf.pdf.
Homeowners Guide to Retrofitting: Six Ways to Protect Your Home from Flooding.
FEMA's detailed homeowner guide including information on elevating your home, raising and
protecting equipment, and floodproofing. https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-
08/FEMA P-312.pdf.
Fundamentals of Resilient Design: Floodproofing. Resilient Design Institute guidance on:
• Dry floodproofing techniques to keep floodwater out.
http://www.resilientdesign.org/fundamentals-of-resilient-design-drv-floodproofing/.
• Wet floodproofing with materials that resist water damage and mold growth.
http://www.resilientdesign.org/fundamentals-of-resilient-design-wet-floodproofing.
City of Hoboken Resilient Building Design Guidelines. Guidance developed by Hoboken,
New Jersey, including an overview of the laws and regulations and approval process for
construction in flood-prone areas, requirements, design standards, requirements, and
examples for wet and dry floodproofing, foundation design, materials, mechanical systems,
and utilities. https://betterwaterfront.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/Q5/Resilient-Buildings-
Design-Guidelines.pdf. The 2022 addendum provides solutions for homeowners to help
mitigate the risk of flooding at the building scale. https://assets-global.website-
files. Com/58407e2ebca0e34c30a2d39c/62d180a35a1957b9fb4569a2 Resilient Building Desi
gn Guidelines Addendum Final 071422.pdf.
Whole Building Design Guide Flood Resistance of the Building Envelope. NIST's detailed
guidance on flood zone management requirements and floodproofing techniques for various
building occupancies, https://www.wbdg.org/resources/flood-resistance-building-envelope.
Design and Construction Guidance for Breakaway Walls. FEMA Technical Bulletin on
designing breakaway walls to include National Flood Insurance Program considerations.
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Additional Resources
Includes information on wave loads and research on breakaway walls.
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-
07/fema tb9 design construction guidance breakwav walls.pdf.
A Better City Passive Flood Barrier Overview and Product Comparisons. Information on
passive flood barriers and different self-activating flood barrier products covering benefits,
limitations, and potential funding sources, http://www.abettercitv.org/docs-
new/2015.09.09%20Passive%20Flood%20Barrier%20Publication.pdf.
Designing for Tsunamis: Seven Principles for Planning and Designing for Tsunami
Hazards. Provides strategic and specific guidance for addressing tsunami hazards from the
National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program developed by federal and state partners.
https://www. preventionweb. net/files/1505 DesigningforTsunam is. pdf.
For Wildfires
Home Builder's Guide to Construction in Wildfire Zones. FEMA Technical Fact Sheets
with information on wildfire behavior and recommendations for building design and
construction methods in the wildland/urban interface. Implementation of the recommended
design and construction methods can greatly increase the chances of a building's survival in a
wildfire. https://defensiblespace.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/FEMA 2008 P-737-Home-
Builders-Guide-to-Construction-in-Wildfire-Zones.pdf.
National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. A strategy developed for federal,
state, and local governments; tribes; and non-government organizations working to promote
resilient ecosystems, protect communities, and provide effective response to wildfire.
https://www.forestsandrangelands.gov/strategy/index.shtml.
Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) Regional Wildfire Retrofit
Guides. Customized guides for the risks, codes, building styles, and topography with very
specific best practices and innovations, https://disastersafetv.org/wildfire/regional-wildfire-
retrof it-guides/.
Design with Fire in Mind: Three Steps to a Safer New Home. National Fire Protection
Association and IBHS Firewise USA electronic book covering fire-safe building practices
including landscaping and maintenance.
https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/hubfs/VHMM/NFPA Assets/NFPA-eBook-4.pdf.
Home Assessment Online: Fire Information Engine Homeowner Wildfire Assessment.
An online assessment guide developed by the University of California, Berkeley that asks a
series of questions about your home and yard and produces a customized report about your
wildfire vulnerability and improvements and maintenance steps that may reduce wildfire
vulnerability. The survey is anonymous, and no information entered is retained.
https://berkelev.gualtrics.com/ife/form/SV eggVWb1tnb7pGhT?Q JFE=gdg.
Home Assessment Checklist. Checklist for assessors and residents to determine problem
areas around the home that can be retrofitted or restructured to mitigate damage when a
wildfire strikes. Many of the items listed in the checklist are free or low-cost modifications;
however, some items may require more significant investment. Most items include a key for
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Additional Resources
estimating costs. https://www.nvfc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/WFAP-home-assessment-
checklist.pdf.
Wildfire Research Fact Sheet Series. Fact sheet series developed by the National Fire
Protection Association (NFPA) and the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)
on the wildfire research being done at the IBHS research facility to create more resilient
communities. Fact sheets are on coatings, fencing, decks, attic and crawl space vents, and
roofing materials, among others, https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/wildfire/firewise-
usa/firewise-usa-resources.
Disaster Recovery Phase
Community Recovery Management Toolkit. FEMA compilation of guidance, case studies,
procurement tools, and training to assist local communities in managing long-term recovery
post-disaster, https://www.fema.gov/emergencv-managers/national-
preparedness/frameworks/communitv-recoverv-management-toolkit.
A Debris Management Handbook for State and Local DOTs and Departments of Public
Works. National Cooperative Highway Research Program guidance for infrastructure debris
management, https://www.nap.edu/catalog/22239/a-debris-management-handbook-for-state-
and-local-dots-and-departments-of-public-works.
Post-Disaster
Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters. Book by the National
Institutes of Health containing comprehensive public health-based, post-disaster guidance,
including information on healthy housing and a broad spectrum of health-related resources and
strategies. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK316532/.
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Glossary
Glossary
Biomimicry: A practice that learns from and mimics the strategies found in nature to solve
human design challenges. (Biomimicry Institute)
Circular economy: An economy that uses a systems-focused approach and involves
industrial processes and economic activities that are restorative or regenerative by design,
enables resources used in such processes and activities to maintain their highest value for as
long as possible, and aims for the elimination of waste through the superior design of
materials, products, and systems (including business models). (Save Our Seas Act 2.0)
Climate adaptation: Taking action to prepare for and adjust to both the current and projected
impacts of climate change.
Climate change: Changes in global or regional climate patterns attributed largely to human-
caused increased levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases.
Climate resilience: The capacity of a system to maintain function in the face of stresses
imposed by climate change and to adapt the system to be better prepared for future climate
impacts.
Debris: The material and waste streams resulting from a natural disaster that often includes
building materials, sediments, vegetative debris, personal property, and other materials.
Deconstruction: The selective dismantlement or removal of materials from buildings for
primarily reuse or, secondarily, recycling.
Embodied carbon: Refers to the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated
with upstream—extraction, production, transport, and manufacturing—stages of a product's
life. Many initiatives to track, disclose, and reduce embodied carbon emissions also consider
emissions associated with the use of a product and its disposal. It is also known as embodied
GHG emissions.
Environmental justice: The just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people,
regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability, in agency
decision-making and other Federal activities that affect human health and the environment so
that people: are fully protected from disproportionate and adverse human health and
environmental effects (including risks) and hazards, including those related to climate change,
the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens, and the legacy of racism or other
structural or systemic barriers; and have equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and
resilient environment in which to live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and engage in cultural
and subsistence practices.
Passive Survivability: The ability of a building to provide necessary shelter, thermal, and
other life-support services during extended utility service disruptions.
Resilience: The capacity to plan for, withstand, adapt to, and recover from natural disasters
with minimal damage in a timely, effective, and safe manner.
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Glossary
Resilient communities: Communities that are resilient recover faster, contain fewer harmful
materials, generate less debris, and need fewer resources to rebuild.
Retrofit: A way to adapt to evolving hazards and a tool for disaster risk reduction by making
changes to existing structures to mitigate the impacts of natural hazards.
Reuse: The utilization of a product or material that was previously installed for the same or
similar function to extend its life cycle.
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