The nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH®) is the country’s leading consumer advocate for strengthening homes and safeguarding families from natural and manmade disasters.
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#HurricaneStrong
Goes Virtual, Grows Despite COVID-19 Challenges
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Findings from a survey conducted in April by FLASH indicated that 66% of those surveyed were "more likely" to prepare for hurricane season due to COVID-19.
FLASH commissioned the survey of 500 residents in ten hurricane-prone states to understand consumer priorities as they balance CDC COVID-19 guidelines with the need to prepare for hurricane season.
Additional survey insights included:
- A 7% increase in those who intend to prepare in 2020 vs. 2019 (59% vs. 52%)
- 57% who agreed they are motivated by social distancing considerations
- "Keeping my family safe" remained a top factor motivating early preparation
- Responses to open-ended questions reflected priorities for affordability, ease of activity, supply availability, and time to prepare
FLASH adapted its signature outreach initiative,
#HurricaneStrong,
in response to the findings with a focus on affordable, Do-It-Yourself (DIY) ways to prepare for hurricane season. C
ontent on
hurricanestrong.org
includes the updated 2020 evacuation zone survey with maps or routes for each coastal community in hurricane-prone states; DIY home wind inspection; power outage safety and tips; protecting pets; roof strengthening; safe use of equipment like chainsaws and generators; sandbags; and topics focused on resilience in the face of flooding, high winds, and lightning.
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FLASH Launches New Strong Homes Podcast
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How will COVID-19 affect my disaster preparations? How much do shutters cost? What is the best way to make a home insurance inventory?
The podcast series features guest expert interviews on topics from safety and supplies to insurance checkups and catastrophe claim process preparation. Episodes feature companion checklists and videos to highlight new content, e.g., a new comprehensive
hurricane shutter checklist
with descriptions, pricing, and feature comparisons.
Additional topics focus on home fortification shortcuts like soffit strengthening to meet the need for actionable, affordable, more straightforward ways to get
#HurricaneStrong
in 2020.
Future guests will share best practices in building codes, earthquake, flood, lightning, wildfire safety, and more
. If you or someone from your organization are interested in being a guest on
Strong Homes, Safe Families!
, please email
Zoe@flash.org
.
- #HurricaneStrong and the 2020 Season feat. National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham
- The Scoop on Hurricane Shutters feat. Tim Robinson, Managing Partner of (GPP) and President of the International Hurricane Protection Association
- Skills + Supplies Today = Safety and Survival Tomorrow feat. Sean Reilly, District Manager for Lowe's along North and South Carolina coast-between Myrtle Beach and Morehead City
- #HurricaneStrong Home Hacks that Save Time and Money feat. Bill Ferimer, Lowe's Store Manager in Wilmington, North Carolina
- Have an Insurance Checkup and Make Your Policy #HurricaneStrong feat. Amanda Chase, a State Farm insurance agent in Winter Park, Florida
- Take Steps Today for a Smooth Hurricane Claim Process Tomorrow feat. Elizabeth Gulick, VP of Claims Operations for USAA
- Science That Makes Us #HurricaneStrong feat. Anne Cope, Ph.D., PE, Chief Engineer at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS)
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Partners and Volunteers Unite for
StrongHomes
Shutter Blitz
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On June 1 and 2, FLASH, Disaster-Smart Inspection Consulting, Global Protection Products (GPP), and United Methodist Committee on Relief volunteers organized a hurricane shutter blitz installation as a bridge project between
#HurricaneStrong
and the FLASH
Strong Homes
initiatives.
The blitz team installed shutters on ten new homes constructed for Hurricane Michael survivors in the Florida Panhandle as part of the
Strong Homes
program. These shutters will allow the homes to meet the IBHS FORTIFIED Home™ “Gold” standard. Meeting the standard makes the homes stronger to better survive in intense hurricanes and helps homeowners qualify for annual insurance savings.
Many thanks to Tim Robinson of GPP for donating the shutters to the program.
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Over the last few months, the National Disaster Resilience Conference (NDRC) committee and FLASH Board of Directors have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our partners and stakeholders.
As we continue to make the safety of our partners and team a top priority, the committee has made the decision to transition the 2020
in-person
conference to a virtual or hybrid format December 2-4. Please stay tuned for further details.
The in-person NDRC will resume at the Wyndham Grand, Clearwater Beach, FL November 30-December 3, 2021.
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The details below are based on the most up-to-date information available to FLASH as of July 14, 2020
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NAIC Summer 2020 National Meeting
July 27-August 14
Virtual
FMA Conference
September 8-10, 2020
Virtual
ICC Annual Conference
October 11-14, 2020 | St. Louis, MO
Scheduled
Nat'l Disaster Resilience Conference
December 2-4, 2020
Virtual
National Hurricane Conference
March 29- April 4, 2021 | New Orleans, LA
Confirmed
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Tim Robinson - Global Protection Products
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Tim Robinson is the Managing Partner of Global Protection Products and President of the International Hurricane Protection Association
Q:
How did you get interested in disaster safety?
A:
My interest in disaster safety started early in my career when I joined the fire service. I spent nearly 10 years as a firefighter and dealt with many different life safety issues which included protecting lives and property during many different incidents from medical issues and fires to hurricanes and tropical storms
.
Read More >
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Lowe's Increases Pandemic Commitment to more than $450 Million, Providing Bonuses to Recognize Associates
From the beginning of the pandemic through recent days as COVID-19 begins to reemerge in states across the U.S., Lowe's dedicated associates have gone above and beyond to serve Lowe's communities. Lowe's Companies, Inc. today announced $100 million in bonuses to recognize and reward front-line associates for their outstanding contributions, increasing the company's total commitment to associates and communities during the pandemic to more than $450 million.
Read More >
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FEMA Examines How Stronger Buildings Lead to Less Disaster Damage
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is studying whether a change in building codes would reduce the amount of damage caused during natural disasters.
There were 409 natural disasters worldwide in 2019, killing approximately 60,000 people, according to OurWorldData.org.
Read More >
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Simpson Strong-Tie Launches Video Series on Deck Building
Simpson Strong-Tie
,
maker of engineered structural connectors and building solutions, has debuted the first episode of "Build a Stronger Deck," a YouTube video series that shows builders, deck contractors and their homeowner customers how to easily build stronger, safer decks that last.
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New Research Leads Homeowners to Better Protection from Severe Weather
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50th anniversary spotlight: Building a Weather-Ready Nation
NOAA’s National Weather Service protects lives and livelihoods by remaining at the forefront of weather science, providing forecasts, giving information to decision makers and preparing communities for weather, water, and climate-related events. Our forecasts and warnings help everyone become a part of a Weather-Ready Nation. Join us as we celebrate 50 years of science, service, and stewardship at NOAA.
Read More >
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USAA Celebrates Nearly 100 years
One of the nation's largest insurance companies was founded nearly a century ago at a downtown San Antonio hotel.
USAA celebrated the company's 98th anniversary on June 20. The insurance, banking and investment services company marked the occasion with an antique photo of some of the first 25 founding soldiers in San Antonio.
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ECA Offers New Webinar Series
Those of us who live in earthquake country know that large earthquakes may happen at any time. Fortunately there are simple steps we all can take to be “safer at home” before the earth shakes– even while being safer at home due to COVID-19 (or as we adapt to new, modified workplace and public environments). This is why the Earthquake Country Alliance is the Safer At Home Webinar Series, with a special webinar for each of the
Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety
.
The information provided will also be useful in the workplace or in schools. Webinars for Steps 2-7 are being planned. Check back here to learn more, or
Join ECA
to receive emails when they are announced.
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US Resiliency Council’s
Launches New “Safe-at-Home” Initiative
The USRC’s mission is to improve
community resilience, one building at a
time. The performance of a community's
housing stock in a natural disaster is
essential to its recovery.
The San Francisco Bay Area Planning and
Urban Research Association’s (SPUR)
defined what it means to “shelter-in-place”
in their report Safe Enough to Stay:
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© 2020 Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) | (850) 385-7233 |
www.flash.org
All Rights Reserved
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