A survey by the Southern
Building Code Congress
International (SBCCI) has
found that structural failures
from 1995's Hurricane Erin,
while fewer in number, were
similar to those sustained during
Hurricane Andrew.
In addition, the SBCCI
investigators observed extensive
damage to many buildings'
"weather integrity" —
including loss of asphalt shingles,
metal roofing, roofing
tiles, and vinyl siding.
Since most of the buildings
damaged in the storm were
built before SBCCI beefed up
the fastening schedules for
roofing and siding, it's hard to
gauge how homes built to current
code would have fared in
the storm. But Hurricane
Erin's effects point up the
weaknesses in previous versions
of the code and suggest
that some new requirements
should be stiffened further,
concluded the team. Learning
a lesson from Erin's relatively
mild winds