A Push For Better Building Codes As Catastrophe Losses Mount

White House officials met last week at Florida International University (FIU) to announce an initiative to help state and local governments adopt modern building codes and standards and help communities become more resilient to hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and other extreme weather events.

The initiative is led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in conjunction with the Departments of Energy (DoE) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as other federal agencies.

The announcement by Ali Zaidi, President Biden’s deputy national climate advisor, coincided with the start of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which is projected to be ‘well above average’.

Zaidi and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell discussed the initiative during a briefing at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, where Hurricane Andrew caused over $27 billion in damage in 1992.

Recovering from a similar hit could cost hundreds of billions today.