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

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HURRICANE ANDREW: FORECAST, IMPACT, RESPONSE 171
The breaching of the building envelope by failure of openings (e.g., doors,
windows) due to debris impact was a significant factor in the damage to many
buildings. This allowed an uncontrolled buildup of internal air pressure that
resulted in further deterioration of the building's integrity. Failure of manufactured
homes <strong>and</strong> other metal-clad buildings generated significant debris.
Numerous accessory structures, such as light metal porch <strong>and</strong> pool enclosures,
carports, <strong>and</strong> sheds, were destroyed by the wind <strong>and</strong> further added to the debris.
(FEMAIFIA 1992)
In addition to structural factors in residential building, the assessment placed
responsibility for the building failures on breakdowns in the broader processes
of residential construction <strong>and</strong> building code compliance <strong>and</strong> enforcement.
Much of the damage to residential structures resulted from inadequate design,
subst<strong>and</strong>ard workmanship, <strong>and</strong>/or misapplication of various building materials.
...Where high quality workmanship was observed, the performance of
buildings was significantly improved. Inadequate county review of construction
permit documents, county organizational deficiencies such as a shortage of
inspectors <strong>and</strong> inspection supervisors, <strong>and</strong> the inadequate training of inspectors
<strong>and</strong> supervisors are factors that may have contributed to the poor-quality
construction observed. (FEMNFIA 1992)
In short, the excessive damage seen in south Florida resulted from a broad
breakdown in the process of code enforcement <strong>and</strong> compliance.
An investigation by The Miami Herald revealed in detail the breadth <strong>and</strong>
depth of the failures in the building code decision process. The Herald
conducted a three-month investigation during which they analyzed 60 000
damage inspection reports for 420 south Florida neighborhoods. When they
superimposed their neighborhood damage map over a wind speed map, "like a
latent fingerprint found at a crime scene, a clear pattern has appeared in the
vast sprawl of destruction left by Hurricane Andrew" (Leen et al. 1992).
Figure 7.3 shows a much simplified map of destruction superimposed on a
simplified wind speed map. The Herald investigators found that
Many of the worst hit neighborhoods were far from the area of maximum
winds.
Some nearly destroyed neighborhoods were adjacent to neighborhoods
with relatively light damage.
Newer homes, built since 1980, suffered damage at a greater rate than did
older homes.
The Herald investigation blamed the pattern of unexpected destruction on a
broad "breakdown" in the building code enforcement process (Getter 1992b).
The failure manifested itself in poor construction, that is, the construction of
buildings that did not meet the intent of the South Florida Building Code. As