Summary Report on Building Performance 2004 Hurricane Season FEMA 490 / March 2005 Glossary 100-year flood - The flood elevation that has a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded each year. 100-year flood elevation - Elevation that flood waters would reach as a result of a 100-year flood. ASCE 7 - National design standard issued by the ASCE, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, which gives current requirements for dead, live, soil, flood, wind, snow, rain, ice, and earthquake loads, and their combinations, suitable for inclusion in building codes and other documents. ASCE 24-05 - National ASCE standard, Flood Resistant Design and Construction, which outlines the requirements for flood resistant design and construction of structures in flood hazard areas. Base Flood Elevation (BFE) - Elevation of the 100-year flood. This elevation is the basis of the insurance and floodplain management requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program. Building envelope - The entire exterior surface of a building, including walls, doors and windows, which encloses or envelops the space within. Cladding - A protective or insulating layer fixed to the outside of a building or another structure. Coastal A Zone - The portion of the SFHA landward of a V Zone in which the principal source of flooding is storm surge, not riverine sources. Coastal A Zones may therefore be subject to wave effects, velocity flows, erosion, scour, or combinations of these forces. The forces in Coastal A Zones are not as severe as those in V Zones but are still capable of damaging or destroying buildings or inadequate foundations. A Zone areas are subject to breaking waves with heights less than 3 feet and wave run-up with depths less than 3 feet. It is important to note that FIRMs use Zones AE, A1-30, AO, and A to designate both coastal and non-coastal SFHAs. Critical/essential facilities - Facilities that, if flooded, would present an immediate threat to life, public health, and safety. Critical/essential facilities include, but are not limited to, hospitals, emergency operations centers, fire and police stations, water systems, and utilities. Erosion - Process by which flood waters lower the ground surface in an area by removing upper layers of soil. FBC 2001 - FBC 2001, effective on March 1, 2002, regulates the construction, erection, alteration, modification, repair, equipment, use and occupancy, location, maintenance, removal and demolition of every public and private building, structure or facility or floating residential structure, or any appurtenances connected or attached to such buildings, structures or facilities in Florida. Freeboard - The additional height of a structure above design high water level to prevent further damage. Hurricane - An intense tropical weather system with a well defined circulation and sustained winds of 74 mph or higher. Load path - The process of carrying vertical force in a building from the roof down to the soil. Pier foundation - Vertical support member of masonry or cast-in place concrete that is designed and constructed to function as an independent structural element in supporting and transmitting both building loads and environmental loads to the ground. Pile foundation system - Vertical support member of wood, steel, or precast concrete that is driven or jetted into the ground and supported primarily by friction between the pilings and surrounding earth. Piling often cannot act as independent support units and therefore are often braced with connections to other pilings. Recovery Advisory No. 1 - Issued by FEMA, this advisory recommends practices for use of roofing underlayment as an enhanced secondary water barrier in hurricane-prone areas. Recovery Advisory No. 2 - Issued by FEMA, this advisory recommends practices for installing asphalt roof shingles that will enhance wind resistance in high- wind, hurricane-prone areas. Recovery Advisory No. 3 - Issued by FEMA, this advisory recommends practices for designing and installing extruded concrete and clay tiles that will enhance wind resistance in hurricane-prone areas. Saffir-Simpson Scale - Measures a hurricane’s present intensity on a 1-5 scale to give an estimate of the potential property damage and flooding expected along the coast from a hurricane landfall. Wind speed is the determining factor in the scale. A Category 1 hurricane is the weakest, with winds from 74-95 mph, and a Category 5 hurricane is the strongest, with winds over 155 mph. Scour - Process by which flood waters remove soil around objects that obstruct flow, water from rainfall or snowmelt. Slab-on grade foundation - Type of foundation in which the lowest floor of the house is formed by a concrete slab that sits directly on the ground. The slab may be supported by independent footings or integral grade beams. Soffit - An architectural element at the roof overhang. Special Flood Hazard Area Portion of the floodplain subject to inundation by the base flood. Storm surge - Rise in the level of the ocean that results from the decrease in atmospheric pressure association with hurricanes and other storms. TAS 110 - Standard number 110-2000 of the FBC, which covers testing requirements for physical properties of roof membranes, insulation, coatings, and other roofing components. Tropical storm - An organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined circulation and maximum sustained winds of 39-73 mph. V Zone - The portion of the SFHA that extends from offshore to the inland limit of a primary frontal dune along an open coast, and any other area subject to high-velocity wave action from storms or seismic sources. The FIRMs use Zones VE, V1-30 to designate these Coastal High Hazard Areas. V Zones are subject to breaking waves 3 feet or higher. Zones X, B, and C - These zones identify areas outside of the SFHA. Zone B and shaded Zone X identify areas subject to inundation by the flood that has a 0.2-percent probability of being equaled or exceeded during any given year. This flood is often referred to as the 500-year flood. Zones C and unshaded Zone X identify areas above the level of the 500-year flood.