Sam Miller, then 10 years old, is consoled by a neighbor after viewing the destruction of his home along Beach Boulevard in Pascagoula, Miss. in August of 2005, after Hurricane Katrina passed over the Gulf Coast. (File photo)

Original Article Posted by AL.com - By Fred Malik - Jan. 8, 2014

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently announced a pilot project for its new Resilience StarTM program that is currently available along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, including Alabama. DHS will utilize the FORTIFIED building programs developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) to ensure homes meet DHS' resiliency requirements.

The FORTIFIED program has provided the standards and third-party verification process for constructing, retrofitting and designating more than 500 disaster-resilient homes in recent years, including many in Alabama.

With the rise in storm frequency and severity in recent years, mitigation programs like this are critical to reduce deaths, injuries, property damage, economic losses and human suffering caused by disasters. From 1990 to 2011, insured losses in the U.S. exceeded $384 billion, not including Hurricane Sandy.

The amount of catastrophe-exposed property is increasing. For example, there is now $10 trillion of insured property along the hurricane-prone Gulf and Atlantic Coasts. A majority of the property is within three feet of the average high-tide. DHS believes that the extremity and frequency of recent weather events poses a significant threat to the nation's safety and economic vitality.

Alabama has already recognized the benefits of mitigation and of constructing and/or retrofitting FORTIFIED homes along its coast with the enactment of legislation in 2009. Alabama-admitted insurance companies must provide discounts to homeowners in Mobile and Baldwin counties whose houses are built or retrofitted in conformity with IBHS' FORTIFIED standards. Houses that are part of the Resilience STAR Pilot Project discounts. Each insurance company's discounts are different, so homeowners should contact their agent or insurer for specific details.

In addition, the Alabama Department of Insurance is administering Federal Hazard Mitigation Grants from FEMA to assist residents of Baldwin and Mobile counties in retrofitting their homes against wind damage. Each resident receiving a grant is eligible for 75% of the total wind retrofit project cost, up to $5,000. The grants are provided as a pilot program for what state officials hope is a much larger future program authorized by the Strengthen Alabama Homes Act passed in 2011.


Smart Home America, based in Alabama, is strongly supporting the Resilience STAR Pilot Project and is encouraging builders, contractors and homeowners to participate. For more information about Smart Home America, visit www.smarthomeamerica.org.

DHS is accepting applications until January 17, 2014, from builders, contractors, and homeowners who would like to participate in this project. Learn more about the program, and apply to participate in the Resilience STAR Home Pilot Project here: http://www.disastersafety.org/disastersafety/resilience­star.

Help Alabama continue to strengthen its coastal communities to be more resilient in the face of future disasters. 

Original article here.