Ohio Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslide

Hazard Mitigation Tips

Recovering from Tornado and Wind Events

Included below are links to publications that will help you prepare for and mitigate against wind hazards. Some publications are developed by FEMA Building Sciences Branch and offers technical guidance and tools about building stronger and reducing risks related to damaging wind events.

Wind Retrofit Guide for Residential Buildings

(FEMA P-804, December 2010)

The purpose of this Guide is to provide guidance on how to improve the wind resistance of existing residential buildings in Mississippi and across the Gulf Coast. Although this Guide was developed to support initiatives in the Gulf Coast region, the content of this document should serve as guidance on retrofitting existing buildings for improved performance during high-wind events in all coastal regions.

Protect Your Property from High Winds

(April 2011)

This series of 8 flyers describes actions you can take to protect your property from high winds, including inspecting and maintaining your building and installing protective devices. Most of these actions, especially those that affect the exterior shell of your building, should be carried out by qualified maintenance staff or professional contractors licensed to work in your state, county, or city. 

FEMA P-431, Tornado Protection: Selecting Refuge Areas in Buildings (Second Edition, October 2009)  This booklet presents information that will aid qualified architects and engineers in the identification of the best available refuge areas in existing buildings. The Best Available Refuge Area (BARA) Checklist may also be downloaded from the link on this page.

FEMA 543, Design Guide for Improving Critical Facility Safety from Flooding and High Winds (January 2007)  This manual concentrates on critical facilities (hospitals, schools, fire and police stations, and emergency operation centers). It is based on the behavior of critical facilities during Hurricane Katrina and makes recommendations on the performance of these types of buildings. It provides building professionals and decisionmakers with information and guidelines for implementing a variety of mitigation measures to reduce the vulnerability to damage and disruption of operations during severe flooding and high-wind events.

Flood Insurance

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) aims to reduce the impact of flooding on private and public structures. It does so by providing affordable insurance to property owners, renters and businesses and by encouraging communities to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations. These efforts help mitigate the effects of flooding on new and improved structures. Overall, the program reduces the socio-economic impact of disasters by promoting the purchase and retention of general risk insurance, but also of flood insurance, specifically. For more information, visit www.FloodSmart.gov.

Why Buy Flood Insurance
No home is completely safe from potential flooding. Flood insurance can be the difference between recovering and being financially devastated. Floods can happen anywhere--More than 20 percent of flood claims come from properties outside the high risk flood zone. Check out The Big Cost of Flooding.
You may also want to get the facts about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in the brochure, Myths and Facts about the NFIP.

How Do I File My Flood Insurance Claim?

Important information on what you need to know about filing a flood insurance claim, tips on what you can do and need to know before your flood insurance adjuster visits your property and the other visitors you can expect at your property.