PROTECTING 

COMMUNITIES 

AND SAVING MONEY

The Case for Adopting Building Codes

November 2020
2 PROTECTING COMMUNITIES & SAVING MONEY

ADOPT MODERN 

BUILDING CODES!

The Results Are In

the study focused only on buildings 

constructed since 2000, which 

represent only 20% of the 100+ 

million buildings in the country, 

and it did not include “indirect losses” 

such as business interruptions, time 

off the job to rebuild, and tax revenues lost 

by local jurisdictions.

The FEMA report calculates losses from three 

types of natural hazards (earthquakes, flooding, 

and wind) for each state and Washington, D.C. 

For details, see 

www.fema.gov/building-codes-save.

*Such as the International Building Code (IBC),

International Residential Code (IRC), or similar code

**NIBS 2019, refer to page 8

$132 BILLION 

Estimated reduction in property losses based on 

forecasted consistent growth associated with 

use of modern building codes from 2000-2040.*

One of the most cost-effective ways to safeguard 

our communities against natural disasters is 

to adopt and follow hazard-resistant building 

codes. Not only are casualties reduced, but 

the cost of building damage is also reduced 

during a natural disaster. Building codes also 

help communities get back on their feet faster 

by minimizing indirect costs such as business 

interruptions and lost income.

of counties, cities, and 

towns across the U.S. today 

still have not adopted 

modern building codes

65%

With hazard-resistant codes, buildings are 

constructed to withstand high winds, flooding 

and earthquakes. The additional cost of the 

building features (roof tie-downs, window 

protection, strengthened walls and roof 

coverings, etc.) is on average less than 

2% of total construction costs.**

A new FEMA study has made the impact of 

building codes on sustainability clear. The cost 

of not adopting building codes is too high.
PROTECTING COMMUNITIES & SAVING MONEY 3

The Good, the Bad

and the Avoidable

Modern building codes address many 

concerns, including public health and safety, 

resiliency, and affordability. 

While local government officials, construction 

industry professionals, and many citizens 

are aware of this fact, currently, in the U.S. 

65% of counties, cities, and towns across 

the country have not adopted modern 

building codes. The people living in those 

places are bearing a dangerous, costly, and 

unnecessarily high level of risk in the face of 

natural disasters.

Many state, local, tribal, and territorial

jurisdictions across the country can break 

the cycle of destruction by adopting modern, 

hazard-resistant building codes. This will buy 

down risk, which benefits local residents, 

communities, and leaders. 

National Investment Strategy

To achieve our mission, we must address 

underserved communities most often suffering 

disproportionally during and after a disaster 

and proactively consider the impacts of future 

conditions. 

Above-ground residential safe room that was in the garage 

of a home hit by an EF5 tornado in Joplin, MO (2011)
4 PROTECTING COMMUNITIES & SAVING MONEY

California, EARTHQUAKE

Kansas, TORNADO

Illinois, FLOODING

South Carolina, HURRICANE 

THE ESCALATING THREAT 

OF NATURAL DISASTERS

REGIONAL THREATS* SIGNIFICANT EVENTS**  

EARTHQUAKE

From the San Andreas fault in 

California to the Cascadia zone in 

Oregon and Washington states, the 

entire Pacific Coast faces a constant 

risk of seismic activity. The Wasatch 

fault, which extends along most of the 

populated areas of Utah, has also been 

active recently.

2020 Salt Lake City, UT

M5.7 on the Richter scale $48.5M in 

losses 

2006 Kiholo Bay, HI

M6.7 on the Richter scale

$200M in losses

1994 Northridge, CA

M6.7 on the Richter scale

57 dead 

$49B in losses 

TORNADO

The central plains and the states 

fronting the Gulf of Mexico are exposed 

to windstorms and tornadoes. While 

mandatory “safe rooms” are saving 

lives in some localities, many people 

remain exposed to these deadly 

hazards.

2019 North Texas

$2B in losses 

2011 Super Outbreak 

(16 states) 

321 dead 

$11B in losses 

2007 Greensburg, KS

11 dead

$153M in losses 

FLOODING

The Midwest -- including the states 

bordering the Mississippi River and its 

tributaries -- is among many regions 

highly exposed to flooding. Causes 

include rising water levels, spring 

snowpack, and increasingly frequent 

and intense storms. Lost topsoil is 

threatening the viability of farming.

2019 Mississippi River Floods 

12 dead 

$20B in losses

2008 Midwest Floods 

(12 states)

11 dead

$6B in losses including $5.4B in 

Cedar Rapids, IA

HURRICANE

The East Coast and the Gulf Coast take 

the brunt of hurricanes and tropical 

storms affecting the continental U.S. 

Over the past 20 years, damage from 

hurricanes has surpassed all other 

types of damage combined.

2017 Hurricane Harvey (TX, LA) 

89 dead

$126.3B in losses

2012 Superstorm Sandy (NJ, NY)

233 dead

$88.4B in losses 

2005 Hurricane Katrina 

(FL, LA, MS)

1,833 dead

$160B in losses 
PROTECTING COMMUNITIES & SAVING MONEY 5

FUTURE OUTLOOK

The probability of another major earthquake 

at EQ M6.7 or greater within the next 30 

years has been estimated at 99% chance 

of somewhere in CA. The other states vary, 

having a significant but smaller exposure, 

except for Alaska which is comparable. 

Many localities still do not have earthquakeresistant codes.

Source: https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2015/3009/

Recent data suggest that tornadoes will 

continue to threaten the center of the 

country... if not with increased frequency, 

then with increased power.

The water levels of the Great Lakes, the 

Mississippi River, and its tributaries are 

expected to remain high for the next few 

years, exacerbating flooding. Rain events will 

be more frequent and more intense.

Hurricanes and tropical storms are 

becoming more frequent and more intense. 

Sea level rise will increase vulnerability to 

storm events.

*Regional examples

**Sources on page 12

THREATS BY LOCATION 

Increasing Risk

Since 1980, the average 

number of billiondollar disasters has been 

six per year. From 2016 

to 2018, the number 

jumped to 15 per year.

Adopting building codes is 

the single most effective thing 

we can do! One change in 

building codes can save lives 

and protect property for 

generations to come.
6 PROTECTING COMMUNITIES & SAVING MONEY

This map shows the varying 

levels of building code adoption 

at the county level. Code 

adoption is uneven.

ALL COMMUNITIES HAVE

HAZARD-RESISTANT CODES 

SOME COMMUNITIES HAVE

HAZARD-RESISTANT CODES 

NO COMMUNITIES HAVE 

HAZARD-RESISTANT CODES

$1.8 BILLION

Estimated reduction in property losses over 20 

years associated with California’s modern building 

codes during earthquake and flood events

Some states have broken the chain of destruction 

by adopting modern building codes that protect 

property and people during natural disasters. 

Florida and California, pioneers in this field, have 

had modern hazard-resistant building codes in 

place since the 1990s. Other states such as 

Virginia, New York, and Montana have followed suit, 

putting in place state-wide building codes that local 

jurisdictions are required to adopt.

Other states have broken the chain from the 

bottom up; that is, local jurisdictions have pushed 

the envelope with the adoption of hazard-resistant 

building codes and raised the bar on their home 

states to do the same. For example, Miami-Dade 

County, Florida raised the standards for roof 

construction and mandated the use of impactresistant windows. The state incorporated these 

requirements into its mandatory state-wide code. 

Similarly, the City of San Antonio blazed a new trail 

in the state of Texas with the regular adoption of 

modern code updates, most recently the ICC 2018 

International Building Code. Other local jurisdictions 

in Texas can provide a higher level of protection to 

their citizens and adopt modern building codes, too. 

Many states still lack a state-wide modern building 

code that local jurisdictions are required to adopt. 

This includes many tornado-prone states in the 

southern/central part of the country and some 

other flood-prone states in the northern midwest. 

These areas represent some of the greatest or best 

opportunities to strengthen U.S. communities in the 

face of natural disasters.

BREAKING THE CHAIN 

OF DESTRUCTION

Based on BCEGS data provided by 

Insurance Services Office (December 

21, 2018)
PROTECTING COMMUNITIES & SAVING MONEY 7

GREENSBURG, KS

In 2007 a powerful tornado took 11 lives and 

destroyed 90% of the buildings in Greensburg. With a 

view to rebuilding to a higher standard of sustainability, 

the City of Greensburg worked with the community, the 

state, and the federal government on the preparation 

of a Sustainable Comprehensive Master Plan. They 

also adopted a modern, hazard-resistant building 

standard (ICC 600-2008) for residential and 

commercial structures. Greensburg has become a 

national leader in building resilient communities and a 

model that the state of Kansas could replicate.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA

As part of its 2008 flood recovery, the City of Cedar 

Rapids worked closely with state officials to increase 

their resilience to inland flooding. They implemented 

a variety of measures, including re-assessing flood 

risks, buying high-risk properties to create a new 

greenway, building a new levee, and most importantly, 

adopting modern building codes. This comprehensive 

package of measures was put to the test in 2016 by 

the second-highest flooding on record. Cedar Rapids 

performed well, with much less damage than during 

the 2008 flood.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT

To manage the risk of earthquakes more 

comprehensively, Salt Lake County brought together 

every local jurisdiction within its boundary to prepare 

a county-wide mitigation plan. The plan included 

the adoption of new zoning ordinances and modern 

building codes (ICC 2018). During the M5.7

earthquake in 2020, the county suffered only minor 

damages (<$50M) due to the adoption of the modern 

building codes. This successful progress also revealed 

the need to strengthen thousands of weak and older 

structures in more populated Salt Lake City 

metropolitan areas.

CHARLESTON COUNTY, SC

Charleston County pioneered the adoption of modern 

building codes. Following the development of disaster 

preparedness and recovery plans, in 2018, the county 

adopted modern building codes that required roof 

tiedowns, window protection, and higher “freeboard.” 

The state of South Carolina followed the county’s lead 

in adopting state-wide modern building standards 

(ICC 2015). The estimated savings in avoided property 

damage over 20 years is $1.9B.
8 PROTECTING COMMUNITIES & SAVING MONEY

DON’T WAIT FOR THE NEXT DISASTER

ADOPT MODERN 

BUILDING CODES NOW!

Hazard-Resistant Building 

Codes Are Affordable

The construction features that allow buildings to 

survive natural disasters are not expensive: on 

average they amount to 1%–2% of total building 

construction costs. For a 0.7% cost increase, a 

building will have the extra stiffness to withstand 

shaking during an earthquake. A 1% cost premium 

will provide the roof tie-downs, window covers 

and other features that help a house survive high 

winds during a hurricane. In addition, 1.2%–1.7% 

cost increase over standard construction costs will 

raise the ground floor, generating the “freeboard” 

needed to withstand most floods. As shown in the 

graphic below, a small upfront investment buys a 

lot of protection.

Building Codes Generate Big Benefits at a Low Cost 

Every $1 spent  

on mitigation in 

new code 

construction saves 

$11 in disaster 

repair and recovery 

costs

Sources: 

FEMA, “Building Codes Save: A Nationwide Study,” 2020; (source of cost data).

NIBS, “Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: 2019 Report,” 2019; (source of dollar spent on mitigation).
PROTECTING COMMUNITIES & SAVING MONEY 9

It’s Not Just About Direct Costs

The indirect costs of recovering from disasters are 

also huge: business interruptions, lost personal 

income, outsized debt, homelessness, lost 

municipal tax receipts, etc. For these reasons, it 

can take years for communities to recover from 

natural disasters.

The Cost of Doing 

Nothing is Too High 

Now that the FEMA study has made crystal 

clear the impact of building codes on economic 

sustainability, who can afford not to adopt them 

in our own communities?

Asking the Hard Questions? 

1. What is my community’s contribution to the

$132 Billion in property loss reduction?

1. How can we increase these savings to $600

Billion by 2060?

• All new buildings built to modern building

codes

• Promote I-Code adoption

• Community support of I-Code adoption

40% - 60%

of small businesses do not reopen after 

a flood or hurricane, which affects the 

overall viability of a community.
10 PROTECTING COMMUNITIES & SAVING MONEY

WHAT WILL BE 

OUR LEGACY?

As stewards and members of our communities, 

we will be remembered for our actions in the face 

of the greatest challenges of our time. Prominent 

among these is being able to survive and rebound 

from natural disasters, which pose an escalating 

threat to life and property across the U.S. The 

evidence clearly points to the cost-effectiveness 

of modern building codes in strengthening 

disaster resilience. Achieving universal coverage 

of modern building codes is a big challenge. 

How do we get there?

Ascertain the building 

code currently in effect 

in your community

Consult websites such as 

your local government’s and/

or inspecttoprotect.org to find 

out whether your jurisdiction 

implemented or adopted a modern, 

disaster-resistant building code.

01.

03.

04.

Build a team

Engage local stakeholders in the mission to 

develop and implement a modern building code, 

along with hazard mitigation plans. Typically, 

these stakeholders include public, private and 

civil society parties, including:

• Community associations and individual

residents and citizens

• Local and state government leaders

• Community planners and/or planning

associations

• Construction and real estate development

industry professionals

• The broader business community

• Civil society organizations

• Emergency management agencies

Formulate a shared 

strategy for reducing 

disaster risk

Put a new/amended building code in 

the context of a broader strategy for 

reducing disaster risk. Codes constitute 

one tool among many, including 

urban growth management (plans, 

zoning ordinances), infrastructure 

improvements (such as levees), and 

public information campaigns.

This task can strengthen the team 

formed under step #2.

02.
PROTECTING COMMUNITIES & SAVING MONEY 11

Build the case for modern 

building code adoption

Draw from materials within the “Building 

Codes Save: A Nationwide Study” and the 

toolkits provided by inspecttoprotect.org and 

ICCsafe.org to develop succinct arguments 

for why a given state or locality should 

formulate, review, approve and adopt a new 

building code.

08.

Adopt the code

Adopt modern building codes at the state-wide and/

or local jurisdiction level. Preferably, the state will 

mandate the adoption of a modern building code by all 

jurisdictions. Then the county or city will comply with 

said mandate, by strengthening it to account for local 

conditions.

Map out the 

process for

building code 

adoption

Determine the approvals 

required and the 

agencies that must issue 

them. Identify statutory 

requirements for each 

approval. Prepare a timeline 

and an approval strategy. Advocate

Relying on the team built under step #2, encourage 

the adoption of the building code with key decisionmakers at the state and local levels. Raise awareness 

of the public. Engage with the business community as 

needed. Create awareness and support presentations 

for in-person and online promotion of the effort to 

upgrade to modern hazard-resistant codes. 

Draft the code

Making use of International Code Council (ICC) and 

other model building codes that are available at no 

charge online, prepare a customized building code 

ordinance that reflects the priorities, preferences, 

technical capacity and market conditions of the 

jurisdiction in question.

05.

06.

07.
For details, see 

https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/building-science/building-codes-save-study

https://www.nibs.org/page/mitigationsaves

https://www.isomitigation.com/bcegs/

https://www.iccsafe.org/advocacy/code-adoption-resources/

https://inspecttoprotect.org/

https://www.fema.gov/news-release/20200220/fema-releases-national-mitigation-investment-strategy

Sources of Significant Events

https://www.usgs.gov/news/m57-earthquake-felt-near-salt-lake-city-ut

https://www.usgs.gov/center-news/volcano-watch-continued-rumblings-2006-kiholo-bay-earthquake

https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hawaiian-volcano-observatory

https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/historical-flooding?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_

center_objects

https://quake.utah.edu/special-events/2020-magna-earthquake-sequence-faq

https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/4/9/21213767/earthquake-damage-millions-salt-lake-county-5-7-magnitude

https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/27/3/459/625402

https://www.earthquakecountry.org/northridge/facts/

https://www.weather.gov/mob/katrina

https://www.weather.gov/crp/hurricane_harvey

https://www.weather.gov/media/ddc/Greensburg_1year_later.pdf

https://www.noaa.gov/news/blog-remembering-tornado-outbreaks-of-2011

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/tornadoes/201913

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/national/200713

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/event/144599/flooding-in-the-mississippi-watershed-2019 

https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1775/pdf/pp1775.pdf

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/national/200807 

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL092017_Harvey.pdf

https://www.fema.gov/blog/6-months-report-superstorm-sandy-pre-disaster-recovery 

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2012/h2012_Sandy.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20131219105454/

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/assessments/pdfs/Katrina.pdf 

https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/2005.pdf

https://www.usgs.gov/news/m57-earthquake-felt-near-salt-lake-city-ut

Contact:

For additional FEMA building science information, or to ask questions, please contact any of the following resources: 

The FEMA Building Science Helpline

FEMA-buildingsciencehelp@fema.Dhs.Gov 

(Office) 866-927-2104

For More information on notifications, updates and subscriptions sign up for GovDelivery emails:

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSFEMA/subscriber/new?topic_id=USDHSFEMA_122

Thank you to these industry stakeholders for their outreach and 

contributions:

ICC - International Code Council https://www.iccsafe.org/

ASCE - American Society of Civil Engineers https://www.asce.org/

FLASH - Federal Alliance for Safe Homes https://www.flash.org/

EERI - Earthquake Engineering Research Institute https://www.eeri.org/

ISO - ISO Mitigation https://www.isomitigation.com/

IBHS - Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety https://ibhs.org/