Wind vs Flood
John G. Minor, General Contractor
Complete, Inc.
www.completecontracting.com
Wind vs Flood
 NFIP – originated in 1968, supplemented by the Federal
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Disaster Protection Act of 1973 requiring federally backed financial
institutions and the mortgage loans that originate from them to
require flood insurance
Special Flood Hazard Area ( SFHA) – 26% chance of being flooded
during the term of a 30 yr mortgage as compared to 9% chance of
fire
$31.4 billion paid between 1978 as of 3/31/06
$2.4 billion in claims paid 94 -2004,
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$16 billion in 2005
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Currently 5 million policies in 20,200 plus communities
Source www.floodsmart.gov
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Wind vs Flood
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Flood Insurance Program
ran up $17.5 billion
dollars in debt
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Interest costs are $900
million per year
NFIP rates are not
actuarially sound and
lead to a deficit with
impact on the American
tax payers
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Wind vs Flood
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Flood Policy or
Elevation Certificate –
First thing to understand
on any wind/water loss.
This will tell you where
are you in relation to sea
level, grade at time of
measurement and from
floor to floor pre or post
firm
Wind vs Flood
Wind vs Flood
Wind vs Flood
50% Rule
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The 50% Rule as identified by the International Building Code 2003
is:
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R105.3.1.1 Substantially improved or substantially damaged existing
buildings in areas prone to flooding- For applications for reconstruction,
rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of existing buildings or
structures located in an area prone to flooding as established by Table
R301.2(1), the building official shall examine or cause to be examined the
construction documents and shall prepare a finding with regard to the value
of the proposed work. For buildings that have sustained damage of any
origin, the value of the proposed work shall include the cost to repair the
building or structure to its pre-damage condition. If the building official
finds that the value of proposed work equals or exceeds 50 percent of
the market value of the building or structure before the damage has
occurred or the improvement is started, the finding shall be provided
to the board of appeals for a determination of substantial improvement
or substantial damage. Applications determined by the board of
appeals to constitute substantial improvement or substantial damage
shall meet the requirements of Section R323. ( up to current code )
Wind vs Flood
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Freeboard Rule
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Covered under the ICC portion of the flood
policy up to 30 K; must be adopted by
county or municipality. In Santa Rosa
County it states:
 Adopt
four (4) foot free board on top of
existing base floor elevations, in “A” and “V”
zones only, into the county’s zoning
ordinance, effective July 1,2006
Wind vs Flood
 Ivan - Wind and
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Flood
Once a flood line was
established flood paid
from there down
Wind paid as
damaged from flood
line up
Wind vs Flood - Site inspection
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Pre / Post firm – This will
establish the coverage
Flood Line – Obtain
measurements from
grade/ Finished Floor
Elevation (FFE) hire
surveyor or obtain
elevation cert.
Photo & Measure Site with landmarks likely to
remain and exterior of
property.
Site Inspection – Wind
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Tree – The presence of a tree on a house is generally
accepted as wind damage. Good documentation of this
condition becomes important later on.
Flying Debris – Areas of flying debris above the flood line
should be documented and may have affected the 2 x 4
framing of wood structures
Wind Damage and Resulting Wind Driven Water –
Document areas of obvious wind damage above the
flood line including, shingle loss, siding removal, blown
out windows or gable ends and resulting interior damage
Wind vs Flood
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Flood Line finished floor elevation (FFE) - Measure with
a tape up close and perspective
Still water/ surge inside debris line. Inside measurements
may be different than those recorded outside due to
ramp up effect of wave action
Wind vs Flood
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Still Water / Velocity
Water with wave
action when there is
nothing remaining
Determined due to
physical damage
indicators, scarring on
pilings, trees, debris
at flood level or above
Wind vs Flood – Katrina
Wind vs Flood – Katrina
Third floor roof
removed due to
wind
 Flood water thru 4
foot from finished
floor elevation on
first floor
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Wind vs Flood – Katrina
Wind vs Flood – Katrina
Wind vs Flood – Katrina
Wind vs Flood – Katrina
Water damage to
ceilings of first floor
 Flood has removed
floor framing
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Wind vs Flood – Elevation
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LOMA – F
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Sometimes looks can be
confusing and inspection
without elevation cert and
map is not enough
Grade can be compliant
at time of construction
even with piling
construction resulting in
the first floor of a
structure as pre-firm –
see Hatteras 2003
Hurricane Isabel
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Wind vs Flood – Elevation
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Look for multiple
elevations in a single
house affecting flood
lines
Timing of permitting of
repair will determine
elevation requirements as
municipalities adopt local
codes and accept the
maps drawn by FEMA for
the local flood plain
Flood Inundation Map
NFIP Flood Inundation Map – Excellent
tool when available sometime after the
loss and based on observation of survey
teams set up by FEMA the maps give
ranges as to the height of flood waters and
anomalies in flood height can and do
occur
 www.fema.gov/business/nfip
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FIRM Maps
 FIRM
(Flood Insurance Rate Map)
Provides the current elevation
requirements for a particular residence.
These maps are continually upgraded and
changed and are now the
 D(Digital)- FIRM Elevations certain
properties are “grandfathered in” until they
are substantially damaged
Wind vs Flood
 Exposure
Type – Certain locations invite
higher wind speeds – Gulf or water front,
top of hills, height from grade, tree
protection, protection from other well built
homes/ downwind missile range for poorly
built homes
Wind vs Flood
 Flooding
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in X Zones – In Katrina this happened due
to the infrequency of storms in this portion of the Gulf Coast, the lack
of claims resulting in no rewriting of the coast and no strengthening
of the flood elevation requirements
All types of residences get flooded in neighbor hoods not seemingly
on the coast by many sources other than wind driven waves
including rising of tidal waters in bays, bayous and sounds,
storm water runoff, and
flooding from lakes, rivers and due to
dam failure or pressure release actions of the state see Fran
Wind & Flood – Studies
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Government minimum flood elevation requirements for properties
vulnerable to storm surge throughout the Gulf Coast region are
woefully inadequate, according to a new study of property damage
caused by Hurricane Ike.
The study, HURRICANE IKE: Nature's Force vs. Structural Strength,
reveals that significantly more Gulf Coast homes and businesses
are imperiled by disastrous flooding from storm surge than
previously recognized by property owners and policymakers.
Wind & Flood – Studies
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The report was issued by the Institute for Business & Home
Safety (IBHS), which is an independent, not-for-profit applied
research and communications organization supported by property
insurers and reinsurers.
"Lessons learned from Hurricane Ike, which is the third-costliest
hurricane on record, should be used by vulnerable communities
from Texas to Maine to effectively reduce property damage in all
hurricane-exposed areas," said IBHS President and CEO Julie
Rochman.
"Simply put, the study found that many properties are not built high
enough to withstand storm surges, tightly enough to prevent water
from causing interior damage or strongly enough to prevent damage
when high winds strike.“
Wind & Flood – Studies
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According to the study's findings, the BFE requirement for homes
on Texas' Bolivar Peninsula ranged between 13 feet for homes built
in the 1970s and 17 feet to 19 feet for homes built beginning in
1983. All but a handful of properties within the first few rows of
houses from the coast, built to even the highest elevation
requirements, were washed away during Hurricane Ike.
By contrast, the study found that 10 homes on the Bolivar Peninsula
designed and built under IBHS's building code-plus new
Fortified…for safer living
construction program,
,
survived the storm sustaining minor damage. The Fortified homes
had outdoor decks at 18 feet that were destroyed, but the homes,
which were elevated to 26 feet, survived.
Wind & Flood – Studies
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The IBHS study questions the current basis for elevating
properties along the Gulf Coast and urges the National Flood
Insurance Program (NFIP) to provide greater incentives for building
well above the minimum elevations now in place.
More than 50 percent of the nation's
population lives within 50 miles of the
coast, with more than $9 trillion of insured
coastal property vulnerable to hurricanes. The NFIP,
which is the federal government program that provides flood
insurance to homes and businesses, also establishes base flood
elevation (BFE) levels for properties
Wind & Flood – Studies
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According to IBHS Senior Vice President of Research and Chief Engineer
Dr. Tim Reinhold, most homes in coastal areas are built to or
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slightly above 100-year base flood elevations. "A 100-year flood means that
the level of flood water has a 1 percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any single year. However, it is well recognized in the
engineering community that coastal homes built to this level have a 26
percent chance of being flooded or demolished over the life of a 30-year
mortgage. This chance increases to about 40 percent in a 50-year period,“
Dr. Reinhold said.
"All it takes is a breaking wave about 2 feet above the base of a house to
knock out the bottom floor or destroy a frame house," explained Reinhold.
"The chances of destruction can be significantly reduced by employing what
has been learned about the importance of proper elevation, which can be
relatively inexpensive when building a coastal home," he continued. "For
example, building to a 500-year base flood elevation reduces
the chance of storm surge exceeding the base elevation
to about 10 percent in a 50-year period.“
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Special Thanks to the IBHS
Documentation of Conditions
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Timing of events based on hard data, video evidence, weather data, storm
chaser info is becoming pertinent evidence of damage
“Concurrent Damage” definition
Building Code Data - associated with original construction or substantial
improvement to determine in general what code the structure should live to
Flood Map – DFIRM data and LOMA will set out current elevation
requirements by revision date, Theoretically structures built after a certain
date will be built to the same elevation. - Sometimes an owner will elect to
build out a bottom floor regardless of good practice and or local building
code. This is a life safety issue and a good local plain manager should keep
safe and disallow this practice. These areas invariably flood in lesser
events and up havens for mold and no place to live.
ASTM specifications – A good source for wind speed testing and standards
for test procedures
Applicable Manufacturer Warranties
Documentation of Conditions
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Compliance associated with requirements of NFIP – sometimes
construction type can affect way a structure survives the flood. Too
much constriction of flood waters designed to flow thru can bring the
second floor of a structure down.
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Pre-Existing Conditions – Rotten or poorly maintained exteriors can
uncover hidden problems tat affect the way a structures reacts to
wind and flood. Windows are more likely to blow in if all of the studs
are rooted around the opening. Construction type where the second
floor sits on the first non-elevated floors. Attention to how structures
are built will connect the dots as to how they fail
Wind vs Flood
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Flood line is a good indicator but not all
Direct Physical Damage definition in flood policy
Xactimate delineation of values wind v flood
Likely hood of wind damage further damaging items also
damaged by flood - Concurrent Causation
Structural framing of building – slab on grade, stem wall,
piers and pilings with or without blowout walls
Blow out walls should be constructed so as to displace
from position under an elevated house to allow flood
waters to flow thru
Wind vs Flood – Pricing
Items to be included in wind portion of
claim
 Items to be excluded from flood coverage
 Delineation of HOA/HO6 on commercial
residential policies
 Overhead and Profit allowances
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Wind vs Flood
50% Rule

The 50% Rule as identified by the International Building Code 2003
is:

R105.3.1.1 Substantially improved or substantially damaged existing
buildings in areas prone to flooding- For applications for reconstruction,
rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of existing buildings or
structures located in an area prone to flooding as established by Table
R301.2(1), the building official shall examine or cause to be examined the
construction documents and shall prepare a finding with regard to the value
of the proposed work. For buildings that have sustained damage of any
origin, the value of the proposed work shall include the cost to repair the
building or structure to its pre-damage condition. If the building official finds
that the value of proposed work equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market
value of the building or structure before the damage has occurred or the
improvement is started, the finding shall be provided to the board of appeals
for a determination of substantial improvement or substantial damage.
Applications determined by the board of appeals to constitute substantial
improvement or substantial damage shall meet the requirements of Section
R323.
Wind vs Flood
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Local benchmark data –
finding elevation from
grade in a neighborhood
can go a long way in
making sense of the
reported facts of the loss
Surveyor tools can tell the
story visually in a way
that an elevation
certificate can not.
Wind vs Flood – Replacement
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Theoretically structures built
after a certain date will be built
to at least the same minimum
elevation.
Sometimes an owner will elect
to build out a bottom floor
regardless of good practice
and or local building code. This
is a life safety issue and up to
good local flood
plain
managers and
contractors to discourage
Wind vs Flood
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Building Code – both for
replacement cost determinations and
as associated with original
construction or substantial
improvement to determine in general
what code the structure should live to
older structures are much more likely
to be damaged by wind and or flood
Large cost driver for new construction
i.e. laminated windows, elevation
compliant utilities elevated from flood
zone, continuous load path thru
threaded rod, fasteners, clips, shear
walls, blocking and tie downs as the
IBHS points out once you have gone
to the cost to elevate a few more feet
is negligible as compared to the
benefit
Wind vs Flood
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Eye Witness / Fact
Testimony – in more
difficult files expect to
interview the builder and
or any other person that
can provide testimony as
to how a property was
constructed including any
special features
Wind vs Flood
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Look for indicators on the
pictures you have to
determine degree of
damage
Pictures will show the
roof water damaged and
knowledge that the
kitchen is on the second
floor will allow a person to
map the water damage in
a unit
Wind vs Flood
Wind vs Flood
Wind vs Flood
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Wind vs Flood
It is important to understand
how a structure is put together
to understand where the flood
stops and the wind begins
The flood in the photo to the
left has removed the load
bearing components of this
spread foundation in two tiers
Wind has blown back the
metal mansard
Wind vs Flood
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Flood Damage
Out of date construction
practices do not hold up
to large events
Code upgrades are a
natural part of the
evolution of the coast and
why buildings are made
stronger
Wind vs Flood
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“ Total Loss” – This
is when the entire
structure has to be
brought down
regardless of cause
wind, flood, code or
ordinance
Wind vs Flood – Elevation
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FEMA – Map Service
Center @
www.FEMA.gov
provides FIRMettes
for free for local
planning and
understanding of
replacement costs
Pre-Firm after Ike
Wind vs Flood – Ike
 TWIA – 9/13/2008 Galveston, TX.
After Ike TWIA took two approaches to
determining the claim value both a
statistical and engineering approach to
the handling of slab claims and paid the
larger of the two values. They considered
many items when establishing the
numbers
TWIA Applied Techniques
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Identified types of siding, roofing, windows if known
Provided a Wind Engineer / Meteorological report
Reported the elevation of first horizontal member
Reported the elevation of the roof
Performed statistical analysis
Determined age of dwelling
Many properties received 11.2% of the policy under the
statistical analysis
Determined age of roof (many new after Rita in 2004)
Compared 400 paid claims on damaged properties and related that
to the slab cases.
Post- Firm after Ike
Wind vs Flood
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Thermal Imaging – an
excellent tool to detect
anomalies in building
components. Water as a
mineral holds heat longer
resulting in water damaged
building materials retaining
heat longer then other drier
adjoining or similar but dry
substrate
Can accurately delineate
damages from wind and flood
as long as they do not co
mingle
Wind vs Flood
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The site will reveal clues
as to the former
residences i.e. granite
countertops were
identified in the depo of
the owners house
pictured above.
Existing slabs or piling
spacing will allow for at
least a representation of
the size of the structure
pre-loss
Wind vs Flood – The Research
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University of Florida –
The Ultimate Hurricane
Simulator
FSU – Modeling
LSU – Building the Digital
Hurricane
Texas Tech – First Up
mobile weather collection
UNF – Bridges & Roads
wired and post storm data
collection
University of Florida
Digital Hurricane Symposium
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www.digitalhurricane.org
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In January of 2009, the field research programs organized a first-of-its-kind
symposium at LSU to begin the process of meshing the independent deployment
activities together to form organized campaigns that produce integrated datasets in
Real Time. The major outcome was the creation of an umbrella organization that
provides “global” coordination at landfall while allowing individual programs to meet
their research deliverables
Thus the Digital Hurricane Consortium (DHC) was formed. Its constituent academic
members include the experts in wind and flood monitoring from the Center for Severe
Weather Research, Clemson University, Florida Institute of Technology, Florida
International University, Louisiana State University, Texas Tech University, University
of Alabama at Huntsville, University of Colorado, University of Florida, University of
Oklahoma, University of North Florida and the University of Notre Dame.
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Digital Hurricane Symposium
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Center for Severe Weather
Research,
Clemson University,
Florida Institute of Technology
Florida International University
Louisiana State University
Texas Tech University
* Hyperlinks
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University of Alabama at
Huntsville,
University of Colorado,
University of Florida,
University of Oklahoma,
University of North Florida
University of Notre Dame.
Wind vs Flood
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Pre-storm photos
provided by the owner to
determine original
construction type and
quality are very helpful
and usually include a
Christmas tree or new
baby in the foreground
and critical construction
details in the back
Wind vs Flood
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Conditions remaining
after a loss can help in
the overlay of the costs
In this case from Katrina
the floor coverings and
floor plan of this slab on
grade home is easy to
identify and establish
values
Wind vs Flood
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Common condition found
after Hurricane Katrina
Every detail remaining on
the site will become
evidence at trial as to
expected loads a property
can be expected to
withstand associated with
wind and flood
Wind vs Flood
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(GAO)
Recently the U.S. Government Accounting Office
at the
request of several members of congress has found a potential
“conflict of interest” in the (WYO) insurance companies
administering hurricane claims and segregating the damages
The nature of this responsibility requires that the adjuster take into
account causation in determining the loss and applying the
damages to the wind or flood claim. This effectively puts the
companies and its’ adjusters in the drivers seat as to loss ratio and
costs to the company. NFIP claims that it does not have the
authority to require submission of the claims data from the wind
company and therefore can not guard against this potential self
dealing
Source www.gao.gov
Wind vs Flood – The Claims
Experts
1.
2.
3.
Meteorologists – Used to
determine the timing of the
different aspects of the damage
Structural/Forensic Engineers –
Overlay the weather data to the
structure to determine within a
reasonable degree of engineering
certainty that what portions of a
structure would have been
damaged by a given peril
Cost providers – Present the
costs associated with the
individual causation
determinations and building
characteristics
Wind vs Flood – All Risk
 All
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Risk
The Multiple Perils
Act of 2007 H.R. bill 920 furthered by
Congressman Gene Taylor of
Mississippi was an attempt at an all
risk policy
This act has been opposed by
insurance industry groups who say it
could cause as much as $100- 200
billion a year in losses with a similar
track record as flood would end up a
huge issue for tax payers.
Insurance industry lobbyist argue that
while insurance has doubled since
Katrina policies are typically available
in many cases by the JUA programs
administered by each state i.e.
Citizens, NC JUA, TWIA
Wind v Flood – Excess Flood
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Excess Flood is so
necessary in today’s world
where beach front homes can
be $200 plus a square
For example a 4000 SF home
@ 200 a square is $800,000
with a maximum recovery of
250k from the flood an owner
who loses his property is
upside down $550,000