FEMA P55 Coastal Construction Manual, Fourth Edition - Mad Cad

9 DESIGNING THE BUILDING Volume II
Buildings that lack strong and continuous load paths may fail when exposed to forces from coastal hazards,
thus causing a breach in the building envelope or the collapse of the building. The ability of a building to
resist these forces depends largely on whether the building’s construction provides a continuous load path
and materials that are appropriate for the harsh coastal environment. The history of storm damage is replete
with instances of failures in load paths. Figures 9-1 through 9-5 show instances of load path failure.
Figure 9-1.
Load path failure at gable
end, Hurricane Andrew
(Dade County, FL, 1992)
Figure 9-2.
Load path failure in
connection between
home and its foundation,
Hurricane Fran (North
Carolina, 1996)
9-2 COASTAL CONSTRUCTION MANUAL