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 guide presents a plain-language overview of design and construction provisions important to the earthquake performance of one- and two-family detached dwellings and townhouses (referred to as dwellings and townhouses in this guide) constructed under the International Residential Code (IRC) (ICC, 2024a). The primary intended audiences for this guide are homebuilders, tradespeople working in the home building industry, and building department plan checkers and inspectors. Secondary audiences include architects, engineers, and homeowners with construction knowledge.
Building Science training courses allow participants to gain access to expert insights, cutting-edge research, and practical tools to address complex challenges in building design, construction, and resilience.
Do you know what to do, wherever you are, when the earth shakes? The second edition to this poster provides visuals and descriptions on how you can protect yourself when an earthquake occurs.
This guide has been prepared as a supplement to Post-disaster Building Safety Evaluation Guidance – Report on the Current State of Practice, including Recommendations Related to Structural and Nonstructural Safety and Habitability (FEMA P-2055). It presents recommnedations and discussion of key issues to inform local building departments officially known as Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) who may wish to implement an Accelerated Building Reoccupancy (ABR) program. The Guide also includes templates that may be useful for setting up a successful program, including:
• An agreement to be signed by the AHJ, building owner, and building safety evaluators establishing the scope and administration of the program
• A consultant agreement to be signed by the building owner and building safety evaluators
Updated file to correct page A-3, Table A-2 (page of the pdf). The second row in white for Culver City should say 2017 for Year of Adoption (instead of 2012).
The purpose of Guidance and Recommendations for the Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Multi-Unit Wood-Frame Buildings with Weak First Stories (FEMA P-807-1) is to advance the understanding of the behavior of older, multi-unit wood-frame buildings with brittle, weak, and torsionally irregular stories, often designated as soft, weak, or open-front (SWOF) buildings and to encourage improved practice in the design of retrofits. This new report provides technical information about the expected seismic collapse performance of common SWOF building configurations, both in their unretrofitted (or original) and retrofitted conditions. It also presents retrofit design examples. The report is intended to be used by jurisdictions and their consultants to inform decisions regarding ordinance scope and retrofit methods to address this risk from the known earthquake resistance deficiencies in these types of buildings in order to provide additional collapse prevention. The intended audience for this publication includes building officials, practicing civil and structural engineers, and government officials interested in developing mandatory or voluntary seismic retrofit programs for SWOF buildings.
FEMA originally addressed the risk from SWOF buildings by developing and, in May 2012, publishing Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Multi-Unit Wood-Frame Buildings with Weak First Stories (FEMA P-807). This guideline introduced a methodology to focus the retrofit on the first story to protect the building from collapse without transmitting excessive additional seismic forces into the upper stories. No change to the FEMA P-807 methodology is deemed necessary based on the work of FEMA P-807-1.
This guide relates the observed damage to a building of a given structure type to a potential collapse mode. The report includes damage photos of the various potential collapse modes, and a collapse shadow cordon area is prescribed in accordance with the potential collapse mode in a graphical table. Additionally, FEMA P-2055-2 provides Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) and local building departments key considerations for customizing their emergency management practices and procedures for large scale cordon area management gleaned from two damaging earthquakes. planning for the Extreme Cordon Area. This report adds to a series of publications that include Guidance for Accelerated Building Reoccupancy Programs (FEMA P-2055-1) and Post-disaster Building Safety Evaluation Guidance, Report on the Current State of Practice including Recommendations Related to Structural and Nonstructural Safety and Habitability.
This quick reference guide helps individuals and families prepare for an earthquake and prevent earthquake-related damage to their homes. The easy-to-read booklet features instructions on conducting earthquake drills and “hazard hunts.” Also included are a checklist of disaster supplies, tips on what to do during and after an earthquake, and additional resources.