State Emergency
Response Team
July 24, 2012
Joint Field Office: Tallahassee, FL
DR-4068-FL NR-025
FDEM/FEMA News Desk: (850) 412-1582
News Release
PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY FROM WIND AND WATER DAMAGE
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Property owners planning to rebuild homes or businesses damaged by
Tropical Storm Debby should consider using construction methods that will minimize damage in future
storms.
Taking steps to reduce future damage is called hazard mitigation. The most obvious example of
mitigation is elevating flood-prone properties. Information on many mitigation procedures is available
free from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Here are some improvements property owners should discuss with contractors:
 WIND CLIPS: These are small inexpensive metal plates that are used to firmly secure a roof to
the walls of a structure.
 MASONRY TIES: These are metal strips used to anchor the wooden frame of a structure to the
masonry foundation walls.
 PLYWOOD: Construction engineers prefer plywood to pressboard, not less than 7/16 of an inch
thick.
 FASTENING: In securing four-by-eight foot plywood sheathing to walls or roofs, nails should
be driven at intervals no greater than four inches in the perimeter and six inches in the middle
lines.
 GARAGE DOORS: Consider a heavy gauge door. When high winds buckle a garage door it is
likely that the roof will be lifted off.
 ELEVATION: This is the ultimate safeguard against flooding. It is costly but widely employed,
particularly along coastlines.
 ELECTRICAL: Appliances and circuit breaker boxes should be raised above base flood
elevation, door seals renewed and old windows replaced with waterproof windows.
 DRAINAGE: Ditches should be cleared.
Specialists stress the necessity of tying foundations to the frames of structures with correctly installed
anchor bolts. Bolts should penetrate foundation blocks at least 15 inches to connect with the second
course of block.
While these measures can’t guarantee protection from storm damage, the odds for escaping major
damage are much improved.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work
together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to,
recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
(MORE)
PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY FROM WIND AND WATER DAMAGE – Page 2
Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age,
disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated
against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). If you have a speech disability or hearing loss
and use a TTY, call 800-462-7585 directly; if you use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS),
call 800-621-3362.
FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for public transportation expenses, medical and
dental expenses, and funeral and burial expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan.
However, applicants who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA loan officers to be
eligible for assistance that covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and
storage expenses.
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For more information on Florida’s disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov or
http://www.floridadisaster.org/. On Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/FloridaSERT. To receive
Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/FLSERT or www.twitter.com/femaregion4.