RESEARCHER SAYS TOUGHER CODES WORKED DURING FLA. TORNADOES

Wind-mitigating building codes implemented in Florida following Hurricane Andrew helped some houses resist a string of deadly tornadoes that hit the state last month, says an expert wind researcher.

Larry Tanner, a civil engineering research associate with Texas Tech University’s Wind Science and Engineering Research Center, studied the wreckage wrought Feb. 2 by a devastating string of storms that killed 20 people in Central Florida. He said that stronger building standards implemented in the wake of Hurricane Andrew — which in 1992 caused 65 deaths and billions in damages — helped some newly built homes survive tornados that otherwise left a snarl of wreckage across four counties.

“You could quickly tell the mitigating effect of the hurricane measures,” Tanner said. “Although the buildings were damaged, they would have been in worse shape without the standards.”

This is true, he said, even though Florida codes were devised to protect against hurricanes rather than the stronger winds typical of tornados.

He pointed to homes in The Villages retirement community where reinforced garage doors and stronger roof connections in homes less than 10 years old helped keep them from collapsing.

Tanner was part of a FEMA assessment team investigating the 1999 Oklahoma City tornado that killed 44 people and helped write federal guidelines. Guidelines for stronger garage doors were a part of the recommendations. He has since studied disaster sites around the country. He said he has seen firsthand how more destructive wind events are in states without Florida-type construction standards.