2015

Despite recent events like Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, the hazard storm surge represents is still underestimated as it is often the greatest threat to life and property from a tropical cyclone. To more clearly express the threat and the magnitude of storm surge impact for potentially significant events, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has announced that it will provide an experimental graphical depiction of areas threatened by storm surge.

Each summer, the threat of wildfire flares up across much of the western United States. Already, "Significant Wildland Fire Potential" is forecast to be above normal in much of California, Oregon and Washington throughout the summer months.

The 2014 United States Farm Bill created new crop insurance programs that were first employed in 2015. The status of these programs and their implementation in AIR's MPCI models were a highlight of this year's Crop Symposium, held during the AIR Envision 2015 client conference in our hometown of Boston.

The State of Florida wants a private flood insurance market. Toward that end, the well-known Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology will start reviewing flood models in 2018.

Does the size of a home impact its vulnerability to hurricane winds? AIR researchers think so, and data confirm it.  

The most powerful earthquake to hit Nepal in 70 years struck approximately 34 km (21 miles) from Lamjung at 11:56 NST on 25 April, with devastating consequences for the people and economy of the country. Aftershocks will continue, but the good news is that the next great rupture will likely be some distance away from the densely populated capital city, Kathmandu.

After a relatively quiet period in terms of large and damaging earthquakes, the recent event in Nepal is a stark reminder that earthquakes can—and do—occur with little or no warning, and are indiscriminate about who they affect.

AIR just hosted its first ever Interface developers conference in parallel with our annual Envision client conference. It was great to see such a tremendous response and turnout.

One of the places I mentioned when I blogged recently about wind engineering facilities that test buildings to destruction was the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) Research Center in South Carolina. Last summer, in conjunction with the American Modern Insurance Group, the center conducted a series of tests to evaluate the effect of high winds on structures attached to manufactured homes.

The primary determinants of a structure's flood vulnerability are its location, occupancy, construction, height, and age (which determines the building regulations its construction was subject to).