Risk Management Series 
Design Guide for Improving School Safety in Earthquakes,  
Floods, and High Winds 
 
January 2004 
 
 
 
 
FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
 
 
 
BACKGROUND 
 
Our society places great importance on the education system and its schools, and 
has a tremendous investment in current and future schools. Currently, 
approximately 53 million kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12) students attend over 
92,000 public schools and it is estimated that the public student population 
will have reached 54.3 million by 20041; to this figure must be added the 
substantial population of private school students. The sizes of these school 
facilities range from one-room rural schoolhouses to citywide and mega schools 
that house 5,000 or more students. The school is both a place of learning and an 
important community resource and center. This publication is concerned with the 
protection of schools and their occupants against natural hazards. These hazards 
must be recognized as part of the natural environment and as extensions of 
phenomena that designers have always considered. Natural hazards can be reduced 
to extreme phenomena related to the four elements (i.e., earth, water, wind, and 
fire). Earthquakes are highly accelerated and exaggerated forms of motion that 
are always occurring in the earth and floods occur when rivers overflow or the 
wind stirs up the ocean along coastal waters. High winds and tornadoes are an 
extreme form of the beneficial breezes that freshen the air. Fire has been a 
threat to buildings for centuries and was one of the first threats to be the 
subject of regulation. Because of its familiarity and the extensive provisions 
for fire protection in building codes, it is not a subject for detailed 
consideration in this publication. However, some considerations relating to the 
fire protection of schools are presented in Chapter 3, Section 3.4.  
Architects and engineers deal with these natural elements all the time; building 
codes always have provisions for protection against fire and wind and the local 
building code (if adopted by the community) will also dictate whether 
earthquakes or floods must be considered as design parameters. However, the 
major decisions in reducing flood damage may be in site selection and layout, 
not in building design. This manual introduces two core concepts: multi-hazard 
design and performance-based design. Neither is revolutionary, but represents an 
evolution in design thinking that is in tune with the increasing complexity of 
today's buildings and also takes advantage of developments and innovations in 
building technology: 
 
The concept of multihazard design is that designers need to understand the 
fundamental characteristics of hazards and how they interact, so that design for 
protection becomes integrated with all the other design demands. 
_ Performance-based design suggests that, rather than relying on the 
buildingcode for protection against hazards, a more systematic investigation is 
conducted to ensure that the specific concerns of building owners and occupants 
are addressed. Building codes focus on providing life safety and property 
protection is secondary: performance-based design provides additional levels of 
protection that cover property damage and functional interruption within a 
financially feasible context.  

This publication stresses that identification of hazards and their frequency and 
careful consideration of design against hazards must be integrated with all 
other design issues, and be present from the inception of the site selection and 
building design process. Although the basic issues to be considered in planning 
a school construction program are more or less common to all school districts, 
the processes used differ greatly, because each school district has its own 
approach. Districts vary in size, from a rural district responsible for only a 
few elementary schools, to a city district or statewide system overseeing a 
complex program of all school types and sizes, including new design and 
construction, renovations, and additions. A district may have had a long-term 
program of school construction and be familiar with programming, financing, 
hiring designers, bidding procedures, contract administration, and commissioning 
a new building, but another district may not have constructed a new school for 
decades, and have no staff members familiar with the process. 
 
 
SCOPE  
 
This publication is intended to provide design guidance for the protection of 
school buildings and their occupants against natural hazards, and concentrates 
on grade  
schools (K-12); the focus is on the design of new schools, but the repair, 
renovation, and extension of existing schools is also addressed. It is intended 
as the first of a series of publications in which hospitals, higher education 
buildings, multifamily dwellings, commercial buildings, and light industrial 
facilities will be addressed.  
The focus of this publication is on the safety of school buildings and their 
occupants, and the economic losses and social disruption caused by building 
damage and destruction. The volume covers three main natural hazards that have 
the potential to result in unacceptable risk and loss: earthquakes, floods, and 
high winds. A companion volume, Primer to Design Safe School Projects in Case of 
Terrorist Attacks (FEMA 428), covers the manmade hazards of physical, chemical, 
biological, and radiological attacks. 
The intended audience for this manual includes design professionals and school 
officials involved in the technical and financial decisions of school 
construction, repair, and renovations. A short brochure based on this manual 
will also be available for school district and school board decision-makers. 
 
 
ORGANIZATION AND CONTENT OF THE MANUAL 
 
Chapters 1-3 present issues and background information that are common to all 
hazards. Chapters 4-6 cover the development of specific risk management measures 
for each of the three main natural hazards.Chapter 1 opens with a brief outline 
of the past, present, and future of school design.  
 
Past school design is important because many of these older, and even historic, 
schools are still in use and their occupants must be protected.  
Chapter 2 introduces the concepts of performance-based design in order to obtain 
required performance from a new or retrofitted facility. Chapter 3 introduces 
the concept of multihazard design and presents a general description and 
comparison of the hazards, including charts that show where design against each 
hazard interacts with design for other hazards. This latter section includes 
fire and building security in its considerations. 
 
Chapters 4, 5, and 6 outline the steps necessary in the creation of design to 
address risk management concerns for protection against earthquakes, floods, and 
high winds, respectively. Information is presented on the nature of each hazard 
and its effect on vulnerability and consequences of building exposure. 
Procedures for risk assessment are outlined, followed by descriptions of current 
methods of reducing the effects of each hazard. These vary, depending on the 
hazard under consideration. A guide to the determination of acceptable risk and 
realistic performance objectives is followed by a discussion to establish the 
effectiveness of current codes to achieve acceptable performance. 
 
Appendix A contains a list of acronyms that appear in this manual. 
The information presented in this publication provides a comprehensive survey of 
the methods and processes necessary to create a safe school, but is necessarily 
limited. It is not expected that the reader will be able to use the information 
directly to develop plans and specifications. The information is intended to 
help designers and facility decision-makers, who may be unfamiliar with the 
concepts involved, to understand fundamental approaches to risk mitigation 
planning and design. By so doing, they can move on to the implementation phase 
of detailed planning, involving consultants, procurement personnel, and project 
administration, from a firm basis of understanding.  
 
 
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
 
Principal Authors: 
 
Christopher Arnold, Building Systems Development, Inc. 
Jack Lyons, School Facilities Consultant 
James Munger, James G. Munger and Associates 
Rebecca C. Quinn, Consultant 
Thomas L. Smith, TLSmith Consulting 
 
Contributors: 
 
Milagros Kennett, FEMA, Project Officer, Risk Management Series Publications 
Eric Letvin, Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc., Consultant Project Manager 
John Plisich, FEMA 
Mike Robinson, FEMA 
Joe Agron, American School and University 
Connie Deshpande, Department of Education 
Randy Haslam, Jordan, Utah, School District 
Danny Kilcollins, Florida Department of Community Affairs 
Fred Krimgold, World Institute for Disaster Risk Management 
Tom Kube, Council of Educational Facility Planners International 
Bill Modzeleski, Department of Education 
Jack Paddon, Williams and Paddon Architects and Planners 
Bebe Pinter, Harris County Department of Education 
John Sullivan, Portland Cement Association 
Jon Traw, Traw Associates 
French Wetmore, French and Associates 
Deb Daly, Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc. 
Wanda Rizer, Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc. 
Julie Liptak, Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc. 
Bob Pendley, Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc. 
 
This primer will be revised periodically and EP&R welcomes comments and feedback  
to improve future editions. Please send comments and feedback via e-mail to  
riskmanagementseriespubs@dhs.gov 
  
 
 
 
1   U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Baby 
Boom Echo Report, 2000 
 
 
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 
FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS i 
 
Background i 
 
Scope iii 
 
Organization and Content of the Manual iii 
 
Acknowledgments iv 
 
CHAPTER 1- AN OVERVIEW OF THE SCHOOL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PROCESS 
1.1 Introduction 1-1 
1.2 School Construction: The National Picture 1-1 
1.3 Past School Design 1-2 
1.4 Present School Design 1-9 
1.5 Future School Design 1-10 
1.6 The Design and Construction Process 1-12 
1.7 School Design and Construction 1-16 
1.7.1 Structure 1-16   
1.7.2 Nonstructural Systems and Components 1-17 
 
 
CHAPTER 2 - DESIGNING FOR PERFORMANCE 2-1 
2.1 Introduction 2-1 
2.2 Definitions of Performance-based Design 2 -1 
2.3 The Prescriptive Approach to Codes 2-2 
2.4 The Performance-based Approach 2-3 
2.5 Hazard, Risk, and Probability 2-6 
2.6 Acceptable Risk and Performance Levels 2-9 
2.7 Correlation Between Performance Groups and Tolerated Levels of Damage 2-10 
2.8 Roles of Designers, Code Officials, and the School District 2-13 
2.9 Changes to a Building Designed for  Performance 2-14 
2.10 Current Performance-based Codes 2-15 
2.11 The O&M Manual and the Occupants' Handbook 2-17 
2.12 Performance-based Design for Natural Hazards 2-19 
2.12.1 Performance-based Seismic Design 2-23 
2.12.2 Performance-based Flood Design 2-30 
2.12.3 Performance-based High Wind and Tornado Design 2-32 
 
 
CHAPTER 3 - MULTIHAZARD DESIGN 3-1 
3.1  Introduction 3-1 
3.2   The Hazards Compared 3-1 
3.2.1  Location: Where are They? 3-2 
3.2.2  Warning: How Much Time  is There? 3-6 
3.2.3  Frequency: How Likely  are They to Occur? 3-6 
3.2.4  Risk: How Dangerous are They? 3-8 
3.2.5  Cost: How Much Damage  Will They Cause? 3-10 
3.3 Comparative Losses 3-11 
3.4   Fire and Life Safety 3-16 
3.5 Hazard Protection Methods Comparisons: Reinforcements and Conflicts 3-19 
 
 
CHAPTER 4 -MAKING SCHOOLS SAFE AGAINST EARTHQUAKES 4-1 
4.1 Introduction 4-1 
4.2 The Nature and Probability of Earthquakes  4-1 
4.2.1 Earthquakes and Other Geologic Hazards 4-1 
4.2.2 Earthquakes: A National Problem 4-3 
4.2.3 Determination of Local Earthquake Hazards 4-11 
4.3 Vulnerability: What Earthquakes Can Do to Schools 4-15 
4.3.1 Vulnerability of Schools  4-15 
4.3.2   Earthquake Damage to Schools 4-20 
4.3.3 Significant School Damage in Recent U.S. Earthquakes 4-27 
4.3.4 Consequences: Casualties, Financial Loss, and Operational Disruption 4-32 
4.4 Scope, Effectiveness, and Limitations of Codes 4-33 
4.4.1 The Background of Seismic Codes 4-34 
4.4.2 Seismic Codes and Schools 4-36 
4.4.3 The Effectiveness of Seismic Codes 4-37 
4.5 Evaluating Existing Schools for Seismic Risk and Specific Risk Reduction  
Methods 4-38 
4.5.1 Rapid Visual Screening 4-38 
4.5.2 Systems Checklist for School Seismic Safety Evaluation 4-41 
4.5.3 The NEHRP Handbook for the Seismic Evaluation of Existing Buildings  
(FEMA 178/310) 4-47 
4.6 Earthquake Risk Reduction Methods 4-48 
4.6.1 Risk Reduction for New Schools 4-49 
4.6.2 Risk Reduction for Existing Schools 4-61 
4.7 The School as a Post-earthquake Shelter 4-69 
4.8 References and Sources of Additional Information 4-71 
4.9 Glossary of Earthquake Terms 4-72 
 
 
CHAPTER 5 - MAKING SCHOOLS SAFE AGAINST FLOODS 5-1 
5.1 Introduction 5-1 
5.2 Nature and Probability of Floods 5-1 
5.2.1 Characteristics of Flooding 5-3 
5.2.2 Probability of Occurrence5 -7 
5.2.3 Hazard Identification and Flood Data 5-8 
5.2.4 Design Flood Elevation 5-13 
5.3 Scope, Effectiveness, and Limitations of Building Codes and Floodplain   
Management Requirements 5-14 
5.3.1 Overview of the NFIP 5-14 
5.3.2 Summary of the NFIP Minimum Requirements 5-16 
5.3.3 Model Building Codes and Standards 5-18 
5.4 Risk Reduction:  Avoiding Flood Hazards 5-19 
5.4.1 Benefits/Costs: Determining Acceptable Risk 5-20 
5.4.2 Identifying Flood Hazards at School Sites 5-22 
5.5 Risk Reduction:  Flood-resistant New Schools 5-26 
5.5.1 Site Modifications 5-26 
5.5.2 Elevation Considerations 5-28 
5.5.3 Floodproofing Considerations 5-31 
5.5.4 Accessory Structures 5-33 
5.5.5 Utility Installations 5-33 
5.5.6 Potable Water and Wastewater Systems 5-34 
5.5.7 Storage Tank Installations 5-34 
5.5.8 Access Roads 5-35 
5.6 Vulnerability:  What Floods Can Do to Existing Schools 5-36 
5.6.1 Site Damage 5-36 
5.6.2 Structural Damage 5-37 
5.6.3 Saturation Damage 5-40 
5.6.4 Utility System Damage 5-42 
5.6.5 Contents Damage 5-45 
5.7 Risk Reduction:  Protecting Existing Schools 5-46 
5.7.1 Site Modifications 5-48 
5.7.2 Additions 5-51 
5.7.3 Repairs, Renovations, and Upgrades 5-52 
5.7.4 Retrofit Dry Floodproofing 5-53 
5.7.5 Utility Installations 5-53 
5.7.6 Potable Water and Wastewater Systems 5-56 
5.7.7 Other Damage Reduction Measures 5-57 
5.7.8 Emergency Measures 5-57 
5.8 The School as an Emergency Shelter 5-59 
5.9 References and Sources of Additional Information 5-60 
5.10 Glossary of Flood Protection Terms 5-63 
 
 
 
CHAPTER 6 - MAKING SCHOOLS SAFE AGAINST WINDS 6-1 
6.1 Introduction 6-1 
6.2 The Nature and Probability of High Winds 6-2 
6.2.1 Wind/Building Interactions 6-6 
6.2.2 Probability of Occurrence 6-15 
6.3 Vulnerability: What Wind Can Do to Schools  6-17 
6.4 Scope, Effectiveness, and Limitations of Building Codes 6-23 
6.4.1 Scope 6-24 
6.4.2 Effectiveness 6-25 
6.4.3 Limitations 6-25 
6.5 Priorities, Costs, and Benefits: New Schools6-27 
6.5.1 Priorities 6-27 
6.5.2 Cost, Budgeting, and Benefits 6-28 
6.6    Priorities, Costs, and Benefits: Existing Schools 6-30 
6.6.1 Priorities 6-31 
6.6.2 Cost, Budgeting, and Benefits 6-32 
6.7 Evaluating Schools for Risk from High Winds 6-33 
6.7.1 Tornadoes  6-35 
6.7.2 Portable Classrooms 6-36 
6.8 Risk Reduction Design Methods  6-36 
6.8.1 Siting 6-36 
6.8.2 School Design 6-37 
6.8.3 Peer Review 6-42 
6.8.4 Construction Contract Administration 6-42 
6.8.5 Post-occupancy Inspections, PeriodicMaintenance, Repair, and Replacement 
6-43 
6.9 Structural Systems 6-44 
6.10 Exterior Doors 6-48 
6.10.1 Loads and Resistance 6-48 
6.10.2 Durability 6-48 
6.10.3 Exit Door Hardware 6-49 
6.10.4 Water Infiltration 6-49 
6.10.5 Weatherstripping 6-50 
6.11 Non-load Bearing Walls, Wall Coverings, Soffits, and Underside of Elevated 
Floors 6-53 
6.11.1 Loads and Resistance 6-53 
6.11.2 Durability 6-55 
6.11.3 Wall Coverings 6-55 
6.11.4 Underside of Elevated Floors 6-59 
6.12 Roof Systems 6-59 
6.13 Windows and Skylights 6-68 
6.13.1 Loads and Resistance 6-68 
6.13.2 Durability 6-69 
6.13.3 Water Infiltration 6-69 
6.14 Exterior-mounted Mechanical, Electrical, and Communications Equipment 6-71 
6.14.1 Loads and Attachment 6-72 
6.14.2 Equipment Strength 6-74 
6.14.3 Durability  6-76 
6.15 Schools Located in Hurricane-prone Regions 6-79 
6.15.1 Design Loads  6-80 
6.15.2 Structural Systems  6-80 
6.15.3 Exterior Doors6-80 
6.15.4 Non-load Bearing Walls, Wall Coverings,and Soffits  6-81 
6.15.5 Roof Systems 6-81 
6.15.6 Windows and Skylights 6-84 
6.15.7 Emergency Power 6-86 
6.15.8 Construction Contract Administration 6-86 
6.15.9 Periodic Inspections, Maintenance, and Repair 6-86 
6.16 Design for Tornado Shelters 6-88 
6.17 Remedial Work on Existing Schools 6-91 
6.18 References and Sources of Additional Information 6-94 
6.19 Glossary of Wind Terms6-96 
 
 
APPENDIX A - ACRONYMS