Hazard mitigation design resources
Extreme weather events are increasing in intensity and frequency. Explore resources to support hazard mitigation and hazard risk reduction for a variety of extreme weather events, including floods, earthquakes, wildfires, and more.
Hazard mitigation resources
Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly more frequent and intense. The following resources can support hazard risk reduction development, design, and construction choices. These resources include risk analysis data and tools, hazard maps, and building design guidelines for new and existing buildings.
Hazard mitigation plans offer a general overview of risk and are a valuable starting point. They show the probability, frequency, and severity of threats.
ThinkHazard!: A general view of the hazards in a given location. The tool highlights the likelihood of different natural hazards affecting project areas (very low, low, medium, and high), provides guidance on how to reduce the impact of these hazards, and where to find more information. The hazard levels provided are based on published hazard data, provided by a range of private, academic, and public organizations.
New Construction: Hazard Mitigation Strategies: Understand the primary and secondary hazard impacts of key hazard types and apply both code and above-code hazard mitigation strategies to safeguard your client's investment and reduce vulnerability.
ASCE 7 Hazard tool: Explore site-specific data for the determination of multiple types of hazard loads for buildings and other structures. Data from this tool is compatible with ASCE 7-10 and ASCE 7-16.
ATC Hazards by location: Access site-specific hazard information that can be used to determine design loads for buildings and other structures.
Existing Buildings: Hazard Mitigation Retrofits: Explore best practices for retrofitting and upgrading existing and historic buildings to reduce potential damage from hazard events.
Mitigation Ideas: A Resource for Reducing Risk to Natural Hazards: A resource for communities to evaluate a range of potential mitigation actions for reducing risk to natural hazards and disasters.
Strategies to Encourage State and Local Adoption of Disaster-Resistant Codes and Standards to Improve Resiliency: A communication and advocacy tool for architects on code adoption, implementation, and application, both generally and for hazard risk reduction.
FEMA P-1000, Safer, Stronger, Smarter: A Guide to Improving School Natural Hazard Safety: This guide provides up-to-date, authoritative information and guidance that schools can use to develop a comprehensive strategy for addressing natural hazards.
ATC Hazards by Location: Explore site-specific hazard information that can be used to assess design loads for structural models of buildings.
No Code. No Confidence: An online tool to find the current building codes in place within the local area that protect against natural disasters.
FEMA State Mitigation Planning Key Topics Bulletin: Risk Assessment: An overview and series of resources on how to conduct risk assessments in order to communicate vulnerabilities, establish priorities, and inform decision-making.
Substantial Damage Estimator (SDE) User Manual and Field Workbook: A tool to assist in assessing and estimating damages to both residential and non-residential structures.
Coastal Resilience Index: A Community Self-Assessment: A step-by-step guide to help communities better prepare for coastal hazards.
FEMA P-55 Coastal Design Manual: Principals and Practices of Design for Residential Buildings in Coastal Areas: FEMA design guidance for buildings in coastal environments. Includes information on hazard identification, site decisions, regulatory requirements, economic implications, and risk management.
Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Design: Technical fact sheet that provides technical guidance and recommendations for coastal residential buildings.
FEMA Mitigation Assessment Team Report Resource Hub: An analysis of building performance observations including recommendations and technical guidance.
The Global Flood Database: Access a mapping tool that provides a worldwide view of moderate- and high-hazard flood zones.
Siting, Design, and Construction in Coastal Flood Zones: A resource on siting, design, and construction practices in coastal flood zones, including coastal A zones, where wave and flood conditions during a flooding event will be less severe than in V zones but can still cause significant damage to foundations and buildings.
ASCE 24-14 Flood Resistant Design: A referenced standard in the International Code, this document gives highlights of ASCE 24-14, which states the minimum requirements and expected performance for the siting and design and construction of buildings and structures in flood hazard areas.
EO 13690 Federal Flood Risk Management Standard: Enhanced flood risk management standard for federal buildings. Guidelines can be utilized to reduce the vulnerability of non-federal buildings.
FEMA 543 Design Guide for Improving Critical Facility Safety from Flooding and High Winds: Providing Protection to People and Buildings: Based on the behavior of critical facilities during Hurricane Katrina, this document makes recommendations on the performance of these types of buildings.
FEMA P-936 Floodproofing Non-Residential Buildings: Guidance on dry floodproofing, wet floodproofing, and the use of levees and floodwalls, including tools to assist the designer in determining the best floodproofing option.
Guidelines on Flood Adaptation for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings: Information about how to adapt historic buildings to be more resilient to flooding risk in a manner that will preserve their historic character and that will meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation.
Mitigation Lessons: Description of wind and flood mitigation needs and lessons learned from the evaluation of seven relevant homeowner assistance mitigation programs.
FEMA P-259, Engineering Principles and Practices of Retrofitting Floodprone Residential Structures: Engineering design and economic guidance on what constitutes feasible and cost-effective retrofitting measures for flood-prone residential and non-residential structures are presented.
Water NOW Toolkit: Includes strategies for stormwater management such as bioswales, blue roofs, constructed wetlands, green roofs, permeable pavement, and rainwater harvesting.
DSS-WISE™ Lite from FEMA: A web-based, automated, two-dimensional dam and levee break flood modeling tool with mapping capability. The DSS-WISE™ Lite Prep Tool, with real-time error checking, allows the user to quickly set up and run dam and levee breach scenarios with resolutions from 20 ft. to 200 ft. in 12 intuitive easy steps.
NFIP 2019-2020 Technical Bulletin Update Overview: The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Technical Bulletins help State and local officials interpret the NFIP Regulations and are also useful resources for homeowners, insurance agents, building professionals, and designers.
FEMA Flood Map Service Center: Database of current FEMA flood maps.
NOAA Experimental Long-Range River Flood Risk: A river flooding projection tool.
Comparison of Select NFIP and 2018 I-Code Requirements for Special Flood Hazard Areas: A reference guide that highlights the key similarities and differences between the requirements for NFIP and the 2018 I-Code for buildings under Flood Design 2 in the IBC/ASCE 24.
NFIP Technical Bulletin 3: Requirements for the Design and Certification of Dry Floodproofed Non-Residential and Mix-Used Buildings: Instruction on the National Flood Insurance Plan (NFIP) floodplain management requirements for the design and construction of dry floodproofing.
NFIP Technical Bullet 1: Requirements for Flood Openings in Foundation Walls and Walls of Enclosures: An explanation of the requirements for flood openings in foundation walls and walls of enclosures below elevated buildings in Special Flood Hazard Areas that are within Zone A areas on Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMS).
NOAA National Climatic Data Center’s US Tornado Climatology: A map displaying the average annual and monthly number of tornadoes across the U.S. A global map displaying enhanced likelihood of tornadoes is also available.
FEMA Wind Zone Map: The tornado activity map is available on page three and the wind map is available on page six.
FEMA P-361 Design Guidance for Community Safe Rooms: Information on the design and construction of community and residential safe rooms.
FEMA Community Tornado Safe Room Doors Installation and Maintenance Fact Sheet: Information about the selection, installation, and maintenance of safe room door assemblies for community safe rooms.
ASCE/SEI 7-10 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures: Explore the requirements for general structural design and the means for determining dead, live, soil, flood, snow, rain, atmospheric ice, earthquake, and wind loads as well as their combinations.
ICC500 Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters: A national standard for storm shelter design and construction.
Foundation and Anchoring Criteria for Safe Rooms: Access the requirements for safe room foundations and anchoring. This is of particular importance for prefabricated safe rooms.
FLASH Resilient Design Guide for Wood Frame Buildings: Published by FLASH in partnership with AIA and its components in New York and Florida, Architecture for Humanity, and the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, this resource guide provides architects, designers, or even homeowners the information necessary to make any set of house plans useful for constructing a more wind resilient structure.
Rooftop Solar Panel Attachment: Design, Installation, and Maintenance: Recommended practices for attachment design, installation, and maintenance of rooftop solar panels to increase panel wind resistance in high wind regions.
FEMA P-320 Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building a Safe Room for Your Home or Small Business: Guidance on how to construct or retrofit a home or business to include a safe room.
FEMA P-543 Design Guide for Improving Critical Facility Safety from Flooding and High Winds: Providing Protection to People and Buildings: Based on the behavior of critical facilities during Hurricane Katrina, this document makes recommendations on the performance of these types of buildings.
Mitigation Lessons: A description of wind and flood mitigation needs and lessons learned from the evaluation of seven relevant homeowner assistance mitigation programs.
FEMA P-431 Tornado Protection: Selecting Refuge Area in Buildings: Access information on the identification of the best available refuge areas in existing buildings.
FEMA P-804 Wind Retrofit Guide: Provides guidance on how to improve the wind resistance of existing residential buildings.
FEMA Guidelines for Wind Vulnerability Assessments of Existing Critical Facilities: Instruction on conducting vulnerability assessments for high wind events and outlines potential general and site-specific issues to consider.
FEMA P-1019 Emergency Power Systems for Critical Facilities: A Best Practices Approach to Improving Reliability: Explore guidance on the design and operation of emergency power systems in critical facilities.
FEMA P-154 Rapid Visual Screening of Buildings for Potential Seismic Hazards: A handbook to identify, inventory, and screen buildings that are potentially vulnerable to seismic forces.
FEMA P-58 Seismic Performance Assessment of Buildings: Methodology for seismic performance assessment of individual buildings.
FEMA Earthquake Hazard Maps: Explore maps displaying the likelihood and intensity of earthquakes across the U.S.
USGS 2017 Seismic Hazard Forecast for the United States from Induced and Natural Earthquakes: Identify increased seismic risk in areas not typically susceptible to seismic activity.
USGS Earthquake Hazards Program Maps: Access seismic hazard maps and data, seismic hazard analysis tools, and seismic hazard primers.
FEMA E-74 Reducing the Risks of Nonstructural Earthquake Damage: A resource explaining the sources of nonstructural earthquake damage and providing methods for reducing potential risks.
FEMA P-454 Designing for Earthquakes: Learn the principles of seismic design and mitigation measures for nonstructural components.
FEMA P-749 Earthquake-Resistant Design Concepts: An introduction to the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program recommended seismic provisions for new buildings and other structures.
Safe Enough to Stay: The recommended steps for the city of San Francisco to enable most residents to shelter in place after a major earthquake.
ASCE 41 Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Existing Buildings: Explore systematic procedures used to evaluate and retrofit existing buildings to withstand the effects of earthquakes.
Expected earthquake performance of buildings designed to the California Building Code: Relevant beyond California, this document dives into myths around expected building performance.
Resilient Masonry Buildings: An overview of the challenges of preserving historic masonry buildings as well as proposed recommendations for making masonry buildings more resilient.
FEMA P-50 Simplified Seismic Assessment of Detached, Single-Family, Wood-Frame Dwellings: Assessment methodology focused on the development and testing of standardized procedures for voluntary seismic evaluation and retrofit for homes.
FEMA P-50-1 Seismic Retrofit Guidelines for Detached, Single-Family, Wood-Frame Dwellings: Explore guidelines providing practical information on retrofit measures to improve the earthquake resistance of a home.
FEMA NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures: A technical resource document that can be utilized to inform model codes, standards organizations, guidelines organizations, and the public for improving seismic design and construction practices.
FEMA P-58: Development of Next Generation Performance-Based Seismic Design Procedures for New and Existing Buildings: An online resource page for the FEMA P-58 series on the Seismic Performance Assessment of Buildings, including its history, report volumes, and supporting materials.
FEMA Earthquake Safety at Home: Access a guide providing an overview of where and why earthquakes may occur and specific steps to take to prepare and keep oneself and others safe.
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network Tsunami Maps: Explore maps indicating tsunami risk and lessons learned from recent tsunamis.
ASCE 7 and the Development of a Tsunami Building Code for the US: Access a proposed national standard for engineering design for tsunami effects.
FEMA P-646 Guidelines for Design of Structures for Vertical Evacuation from Tsunamis: Explore information on the planning and design of tsunami vertical evacuation structures and general information on the tsunami hazard and its history. The resource also includes guidance on determining a tsunami hazard, including tsunami depth and velocity, options for tsunami vertical evacuation structures, guidance on siting, spacing, sizing, and elevation considerations, and determining tsunami and earthquake loads and related structural design criteria.
Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Toolkit: Explore a number of resources including a community assessment tool for hazard risk and case studies of successful adaptation to wildfire risk.
FEMA Federal Fire Occurrence Map Viewer: Access an interactive map of fire occurrences.
International Wildland-Urban Interface Code: The minimum requirements for wildland-urban interface.
NFPA 1144: Standard for Reducing Structure Ignition Hazards from Wildland Fire: Methodology for assessing wildland fire ignition hazards around existing structures and requirements for new construction to reduce the potential of structure ignition from wildland fires.
FEMA P-754 Wildfire Hazard Mitigation Handbook for Public Facilities: A handbook to identify potentially feasible mitigation measures that can be implemented during the repair and rebuilding of damaged facilities.
Firebreak: Wildfire Resilience Strategies for Real Estate: A report that covers the impacts of wildfires on the U.S. real estate industry and details best practices in building design and land use policy to reduce damage and support resilient communities in the long term.
Wildfire Risk: A knowledge sharing platform created by USDA Forest Service that includes interactive maps, charts, and resources to help inform communities on how to reduce wildfire risk.
Outthink Wildfire: Part of the National Fire Protection Association, Outthink Wildfire is a comprehensive policy strategy to reduce wildfire risk to impacted communities.
FEMA Design Guide: Three-Dimensional Roof Snowdrifts: Access a design guide that introduces design examples for three-dimensional roof snowdrifts.
America ByDesign 2025 is a celebration of creativity, diversity, and the endless possibilities of human ingenuity. Join us as we explore the architectural marvels that define who we are and inspire
