Damaging extreme weather events are becoming more common, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Data collected by NOAA shows an average of 8.5 “billion-dollar” disasters per year from 1980 to 2023, spiking to an average of 20.4 disasters annually from 2019 to 2023.
Because we as a society lack the power to stop extreme weather events from happening in the first place, the best thing we can do is take measures to reduce their human and financial toll. According to built environment experts like Karim Allana, one of the most important ways we can do this is by making existing and especially new buildings more resilient to wildfire, flood, windstorms, and other types of damaging weather.
Here’s what Allana and his peers say we should focus on when designing new buildings and managing the building stock we already have amid a more extreme climate.
- Site New Buildings Carefully
- The best way to reduce a new building’s exposure to extreme weather risk is to build it in areas that are less vulnerable to weather-related disasters.
- In practice, this means looking closely at fire and flood maps and eliminating areas that burn or flood regularly as options for new residential or commercial development. And “regularly” doesn’t have to mean “every year.” Builders should look at 500-year flood risk or even beyond, rather than the minimum standards to qualify for flood insurance.
- Builders should also think about what the future might look like when it comes to coastal or wildland construction. Some insurers have abandoned disaster-prone markets like Florida and California, raising the possibility that new homes built in certain areas of these states could become uninsurable in the future.
- Source Construction Plans From Subject Matter Experts
- Working with an expert construction planner and architect is critical in a more uncertain future. Experts like Karim Allana have encyclopedia knowledge of building materials and techniques, enabling them to customize building plans with resiliency in mind. How a building is built matters a great deal, of course, but working with experts in the early stages ensures the project gets off on the right foot.
- Use “Evidence-Based” Materials That Improve Longevity
- The cheapest building materials aren’t always the most cost-effective. In fire zones, for example, fire-resistant cladding materials can mean the difference between repairable damage and a total loss.
- “Evidence-based” building materials may also last longer than cheaper alternatives. Even if the building is fortunate not to face an extreme weather event during its useful lifespan, using higher-quality materials can extend replacement cycles and reduce total ownership costs.
- Plan For the Weather 50 Years From Now
- We can’t predict what the weather will be like on specific days a month from now, let alone a year, 10 years, or 50 years. However, climate models tell us that extreme weather events are likely to become more common and more damaging over time. We should expect that buildings constructed today will face more weather hazards — and greater risk of serious damage or destruction — than buildings built 100 years ago.
- Construction professionals and planners can prepare for this likely future by “overbuilding” drainage, fireproofing, and other mitigation systems, as well as using stronger, more resilient building materials.
- Mitigate Local Hazards
- Building owners and operators can reduce direct threats to their properties by removing hazards that can contribute to weather-related damage. So can construction professionals during the initial construction or renovation process. For example, paring back overhanging tree limbs reduces the chances of one falling on a home during a windstorm, while clearing dry brush can mitigate fire risk. These interventions aren’t perfect, but they could lower the cost of a severe weather event.
Preparing Homes, Businesses and Institutions for What’s Next
If it seems to you like the United States (and wider world) has seen more “hundred-year” or “thousand-year” weather events recently, you’re not imagining it. Extreme weather events are becoming more common due to climate change, and their effects are made more costly by the fact that many new buildings are inadequately adapted or built in highly vulnerable places like fire zones and floodplains.
The effects of some disasters, like EF-5 tornadoes and Category 5 hurricanes, are very difficult to mitigate with current building technologies, and even conservative siting practices might not be enough to eliminate the property damage they cause.
However, we have a surprising amount of power to reduce the impacts of many severe or extreme weather events. We just also need the will to get it done.