Recent decades have seen
millions of new homes built
in coastal areas that often
get hit by major storms.
Many of these homes contain
custom design elements
that aren't covered in the
building codes — ambitious
architectural creations
backed up by complex engineering
analyses. Cay Cross,
manager of the small town of
Southern Shores on North
Carolina's windswept Outer
Banks, worried that her
building inspectors weren't
equipped to evaluate such
plans or to ensure that contractors
put the structures
together properly. And she
feared the town might still
be held liable if it allowed
construction of homes that
later failed under high winds
and heavy surf.
Searching for technical
help for her building officials,
Cross found plenty of
questions but few answers.
When she complained to a
Federal Emergency
Management Agency
(FEMA)