Risk Management Series 
Design Guide for Improving School Safety in Earthquakes,  
Floods, and High Winds 
 
January 2004
 
 
 

 
 
 
ACRONYMS     A 
 
 
 
A 
 
AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 
 
ACSA Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture 
 
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act 
 
AHJ Authority Having Jurisdiction 
 
AIA American Institute of Architects 
 
AK Alaska 
 
AL Alabama 
 
ANSI American National Standards Institute 
 
ARC American Red Cross 
 
ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers 
 
ASTM  American Society for Testing and Materials 
 
ATC Applied Technology Council 
 
 
 
B 
 
BFE base flood elevation 
 
BOCA Building Officials and Code Administrators International 
 
BSSC Building Seismic Safety Council 
 
BUR built-up roof 
 
 
 
 
C 
 
CA California 
 
CBR chemical, biological, or radiological 
 
CMU concrete masonry unit 
 
 
 
D 
 
DE Delaware 
 
DFE design flood elevation 
 
 
 
E 
 
EIFS exterior insulation finish system 
 
ELF Equivalent Lateral Force 
 
EPDM ethylene propylene diene monomer 
 
EPS expanded polystyrene system 
 
 
 
 
F 
 
FEA finite element analysis 
 
FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency 
 
FIRM Flood Insurance Rate Map 
 
FIS Flood Insurance Study 
 
FL Florida 
 
FM Factory Mutual 
 
FMG Factory Mutual Global 
 
FMR Factory Mutual Research 
 
 
 
 
G 
 
GIS Geographic Information System 
 
Gpm gallons per minute 
 
 
 
H 
 
HazMat hazardous materials 
 
HAZUS Hazards U.S. 
 
HAZUS-MH Hazards U.S. - Multihazards 
 
HID high intensity 
 
HVAC heating, ventilating, and air conditioning 
 
 
 
I 
IBC International Building Code 
 
ICBO International Conference of Building Officials 
 
ICC International Code Council 
 
Id identification 
 
IL Illinois 
 
IT Information Technology 
 
 
 
K 
 
K-12 kindergarten to grade 12 
 
Km kilometer  
 
 
 
L 
 
LA Louisiana 
 
LCD liquid crystal display 
 
 
 
M 
 
MA Massachusetts 
 
MD Maryland 
 
M/E/P Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing 
 
Mph miles per hour 
 
MT Montana 
 
MWFRS main wind-force resisting system 
 
 
 
 
N 
 
NBC National Building Code 
 
NC North Carolina 
 
NEHRP National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program 
 
NFIP National Flood Insurance Program 
 
NFPA National Fire Protection Association 
 
NIBS National Institute of Building Sciences 
 
 
 
 
O 
 
O&M operations and maintenance 
 
OH Ohio 
 
OSB oriented strand board 
 
 
 
P 
 
PA Pennsylvania 
 
PMR protected membrane roof 
 
Psf pounds per square foot 
 
 
 
R 
 
RC reinforced concrete 
 
RSP Rapid Screening Procedure 
 
 
 
S 
 
SBC Standard Building Code 
 
SBCCI Southern Building Code Congress International 
 
SC South Carolina 
 
SEACO Structural Engineers Association of California 
 
SFPE Society of Fire Protection Engineers 
 
SPF sprayed polyurethane foam 
 
SUG Seismic Use Group 
 
 
 
 
T 
 
TN Tennessee 
 
Tv television 
 
TX Texas