Hurricanes: Their Nature and Impacts on Society - Climate Science ...

170 HURRICANES: THEIR NATURE AND IMPACT ON SOCIETY
While the psychological effects of Hurricane Andrew were especially hard on
children, adults also experienced depression <strong>and</strong> Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome,
which can lead to sleep disorders, intense guilt, <strong>and</strong> phobic reactions
(Mauro 1992).
7.3.2 Building codes: construction, implementation, enforcement, <strong>and</strong>
compliance
Because Dade County's building codes have long been considered by many to
be among the strictest in the nation, much of the widespread damage following
Andrew was unexpected. Investigations into the causes of the damage revealed
that not only was it unexpected, but unnecessary as well.
Unexpected patterns of damage
The unexpected extent of wind damage led to some of the most important
lessons of Hurricane Andrew in south Florida. According to one assessment:
The South Florida Building Code is one of the toughest in the country, <strong>and</strong> all
observers agree that if Hurricane Andrew had hit almost any other location on
the U.S. coastline, deaths <strong>and</strong> damage would have been much higher due to a
greater number of building structure failures. (Levy <strong>and</strong> Toulman 1993)
Yet, even though south Florida does have a strong building code, Andrew
revealed extensive flaws in the code implementation <strong>and</strong> enforcement process,
as well as in the code itself. According to insurance industry estimates, poor
compliance with the south Florida building codes accounted for 25% to 40%,
or about $4 billion to $6.5 billion, of the insured losses in south Florida due to
Hurricane Andrew (Noonan 1993).
That Dade County has long been considered to have among the most
rigorous <strong>and</strong> well-enforced hurricane-related building codes should give pause
to the other 167 coastal counties from Texas to Maine. If Dade County is
indeed the best prepared, <strong>and</strong> it suffered at least $4 billion in preventable
damages, then there are almost certainly great opportunities to reduce the
potential for property damage elsewhere along the Atlantic <strong>and</strong> Gulf coasts.
However, even with strict enforcement of the South Florida Building Code,
Andrew would still have been the costliest hurricane in history. Thus, it is
indeed frightening to consider the potential impacts of an Andrew-like storm
on other populous coastal communities along the US Gulf <strong>and</strong> Atlantic
coasts.
According to a joint Federal Emergency Management Agency/Federal
Insurance Administration assessment of building performance in Hurricane
Andrew, excessive damage occurred due to a number of factors.