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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2024 Building Code Adoption Tracking: FEMA Region 2

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2024 Building Code Adoption Tracking Overview

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2024 Building Code Adoption Tracking: FEMA Region 9

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FEMA P-2055-1 Guidance for Accelerated Building Reoccupancy Programs

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).

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NETAP Resource Guide for Earthquake Program Managers

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FEMA P-807-1, Guidance and Recommendations for the Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Multi-Unit Wood-Frame Buildings with Weak First Stories

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.

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Hurricane Ian NFIP Claims Analysis

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Mitigation Assessment Team Report: Hurricane Ian in Florida Building Performance, Observations, Recommendations, and Technical Guidance (FEMA P-2342)

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Reducing Wildfire Risk to Your Home Infographic

For most single-family homes, the exterior envelope of the building including roof, walls, windows, doors, trims, etc. is not typically required to be fire resistant. This means that most
homes are vulnerable to ignition to embers, flames and hot gases from wildfires or other burning fuels nearby. This infographic helps you mitigate your risk.

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FEMA P-2055-2 Recommendations for Cordoning Earthquake-Damaged Buildings

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.