Assessing Disaster Impacts with the Building Science Disaster Support Program

Main Functions

Resource Library

The Building Science Disaster Support (BSDS) Program sends experts to assess the performance of buildings, structures and Community Lifelines after disasters like extreme wind, floods, wildfires, earthquakes and more.

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The Building Science Disaster Support Program has been around for over 30 years. However, it hasn’t always gone by that title – in the past it’s been referred to as the Building Performance Assessment Team Program and the Mitigation Assessment Team Program.

Main Functions

Disaster Readiness (Steady State)

During disaster readiness, the program gathers information about natural hazard events and locations to determine if disaster support is needed.

Disaster Support Operations

Depending on the analysis of the events, the BSDS program can provide Disaster Support Operations by assembling and deploying Mitigation Assessment Teams (MAT) to evaluate the performance of buildings, other structures, and associated community lifelines.

Working closely with federal and state, local, tribal and territorial officials, academia and private sector partners, the MAT develop conclusions and recommendations to improve building, utility and community resilience on the local and state levels.

Technical Assistance

The Building Science Disaster Support Program can also provide Technical Assistance and subject matter expert support for the disaster.

You Have Questions

“How do we build back better?”

“What can we do differently to prevent future damage?"

BSDS Has Answers

Learning from the disaster damage, the BSDS program provides expert support and technical assistance throughout the recovery process.

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Resource Library: Search for Reports and Advisories

This collection contains all available resources produced as a result of the Building Science Disaster Support Program’s recommendations.

These reports, fact sheets and advisories are based on their observation of the impact of natural hazards on the built environment and otherwise.

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Mitigation Assessment Teams: Building Stronger and Safer

Overview of the Mitigation Assessment Team Program.

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Hurricane Michael in Florida (FEMA P-2077)

Hurricane Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach and Tyndall Air Force Base, FL, on October 10, 2018, at 12:30 CDT as a Category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 161 miles per hour (mph) and a minimum pressure of 919 millibars (mb). It was the fourth strongest hurricane to make landfall on the continental United States based on wind speed, and the 13th named storm of the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

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Mitigation Assessment Team Compendium Report: 2017 Hurricane Season (FEMA P-2054)

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season was extremely active, producing 17 named storms. Six of these storms became major hurricanes (Category 3, 4, or 5), and three ranked in the National Hurricane Center’s (NHC’s) top five hurricanes with the greatest cumulative damage.

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Best Practices for Minimizing Wind and Water Infiltration Damage (Hurricane Michael in Florida Recovery Advisory 2)

This Recovery Advisory presents important recommendations to reduce wind and water infiltration damage to new and existing residential buildings.

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Successfully Retrofitting Buildings for Wind Resistance (Hurricane Michael in Florida Recovery Advisory 1)

The purpose of this Recovery Advisory is to present key wind retrofit guidelines for buildings located in hurricane-prone regions.

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Mitigation Assessment Team Report: Hurricane Harvey in Texas (FEMA P-2022)

MAT members evaluated building systems to determine the effectiveness of various design and construction practices and ascertain the effect of code adoption and enforcement on reducing flood and wind damage. To improve resiliency in future events, the lessons learned from MAT deployments and reports can either be incorporated into best practices for future retrofits or new hazard-resistant building design.

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Mitigation Assessment Team Report: Hurricane Irma in Florida (FEMA P-2023)

The MAT deployed to Florida assessed the performance of municipal buildings, coastal residential properties, and public facilities. The MAT focused on structures in Lee, Collier, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties.

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Mitigation Assessment Team Report: Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico (FEMA P-2020)

The MAT's areas of focused observations included: building codes, standards and regulations; residential and low-rise buildings; schools, critical facilities, photovoltaic (PV) arrays, and solar water heaters.

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Mitigation Assessment Team Report: Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the U.S. Virgin Islands (FEMA P-2021)

The MAT was charged with evaluating damage from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, especially for buildings constructed or reconstructed after Hurricane Marilyn (1995), to identify both successful and unsuccessful mitigation techniques. This work involved: assessing the performance of residential, nonresidential, and critical facilities affected by the storms; evaluating the performance of photovoltaic (PV) facilities; investigating the effects of wind speed-up due to the islands’ topography on building performance; and meeting with residents and local officials to better understand what transpired during and after the storms.

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FEMA Building Science Resources to Assist with Reconstruction After a Hurricane (English & Spanish)

FEMA has produced numerous publications detailing best practices for natural hazard mitigation associated with hurricane impacts. This flyer summarizes a few of the readily available publications and resources that can be used by homeowners as well as design and construction professionals during reconstruction following hurricanes.

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