HOUSING RESILIENCE

CHALLENGES AND BEST PRACTICES

Ian Giammanco, Ph.D., the managing director of Standards & Data Analytics and lead research meteorologist at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), said the good news is IBHS and other research has found what materials and actions guard against a disaster.

He said the other good news is that some mitigation requires simple DIY—not a monumental project such as shoring up and elevating a home several feet above a flood plain.

“For wildfire mitigation, make sure the first five feet around the house does not have any combustible material.

For the house, a metal or tile roof or asphalt shingles works, along with the first six inches from the ground up made on noncombustible material,” he said.

“Metal mesh screens over attic and crawl space vents keep embers from getting inside your home.”