Building Science Resource Library
The Building Science Resource Library contains all of FEMA’s hazard-specific guidance that focuses on creating hazard-resistant communities.
You can search for a document by its title, or filter the collection to browse by:
- Topic: High winds, flood, earthquake, etc.
- Document Type: Brochure, report, fact sheet, infographic, etc.
- Audience: Building professionals & engineers, individuals & homeowners, teachers & kids, etc.
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This publication describes how homeowners in Miami-Dade County elevated their damaged slab-on-grade masonry houses following the devastating effects of Hurricane Andrew.
This guide provides local building officials and floodplain managers with information about the design and construction of hazard-resistant residential structures within the coastal environment. The primary coastal hazards this guide will highlight are high winds and flooding.
Technical Bulletin 9 provides guidance on NFIP requirements for the design and construction of breakaway walls that are used to create enclosures below the lowest floor of elevated structures in Coastal High Hazard Areas.
This Recovery Advisory provides information to reduce critical facility vulnerability to damage from high wind, including suggestions for assessing the vulnerability of a critical facility to future hazards. The information in this advisory is most useful for retrofits of existing buildings, but also references design guidance appropriate for new construction.
The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide options to reduce disaster damage, minimize repair costs, and reduce service losses for key building systems in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). This fact sheet describes lower-cost maintenance recommendations and higher-cost wind retrofits to improve building performance in future disasters.
This fact sheet informs homeowners or their designated representatives—such as a contractor—about the permitting and inspection process, which helps protect the homes, lands, and natural resources of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). By completing these steps and responsibilities as described, your home will be more resilient to natural disasters.
This Recovery Advisory focuses on residential roof construction and materials, and roof-to-wall connections. It also details a seven-step process for enhancing your safety by improving the performance of your home during high winds.
The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide cost-effective ways to reduce disaster damages and increase the life expectancy of residential buildings in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). This fact sheet describes many affordable solutions, including lower-cost maintenance recommendations and higher-cost retrofits.
Floodwaters can submerge critical equipment, hurricane-force winds can rip sections of roofing off production facilities, and earthquakes can bring down suspended ceilings in office facilities.
This manual is intended to provide guidance for the protection of school buildings from natural disasters. This volume concentrates on grade schools, K-12. FEMA P-424 covers earthquakes, floods, and high winds. Its intended audience is design professionals and school officials involved in the technical and financial decisions of school construction, repair, and renovations. NOTE: This publication is available free to Local and State government staff. All other interested parties can obtain this publication via online download only.