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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Building codes and standards are crucial to protecting homes in the event of a natural hazard. There have been numerous examples of homes or communities that were designed and built to the latest building codes that have not only survived a significant natural disaster but were able to continue their intended function, helping their community quickly recover and remain resilient. Some of these examples are detailed here.
Developed in response to Hurricane Ida in Louisiana, the purpose of this guide is to provide guidance on how to improve the wind resistance of existing one- and two-family dwellings in hurricane-prone regions of the United States and its territories. This guide is not applicable to manufactured housing (MH) units or townhouse units.
The purpose of this Recovery Advisory is to emphasize the importance of building codes and introduce best practices intended to minimize tornado damage as part of the rebuilding effort for non-residential buildings that are not essential facilities
The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide a brief overview of building envelope and load path improvements to reduce damage to wood-framed, one- and two-family residential structures when impacted by tornadoes rated on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale as EF2 or less intensity, and indirectly by tornadoes with a greater EF rating.
The purpose of this advisory is to inform essential facility owners, operators, and planners of ways to improve the tornado performance of their existing or new essential facilities and how to reduce loss of functionality of the facility during and after a tornado.
This instructional guidance is for design professionals and building officials to help them determine when a building or other structure is required to be designed to minimum tornado loads and how to calculate design tornado forces. This guide is in accordance with the updated requirements of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) / Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) standard ASCE 7-22, Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures.
The Playbook is intended for officials interested in increasing community resilience and reducing loss from natural hazards by adopting the latest editions of model building codes. The Playbook provides general steps to help navigate the code adoption process and informs about FEMA grants available to support building code adoption and enforcement activities.
Flyer outlining eligible building code activities that occur up to 180 days after a major disaster declaration can be reimbursed through Public Assistance.
“How the Three Little Pigs Could Have Saved Their Homes” is a short story and accompanying activity sheet intended to inform and engage children about building codes. The front side is a story following the typical structure of the Three Little Pigs, and the backside has a spot the difference activity, maze, and word search.