Between Aug. 13, 2004, and Sept. 25, 2004, Hurricanes Charley,
Frances, Ivan and Jeanne made landfall in Florida. (Ivan also hit
the eastern coastal areas of Alabama.) In response, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deployed Mitigation Assessment
Teams (MATs) following Charley and Ivan to determine how well
buildings performed following the hurricanes. The MATs were
composed of national experts in hazards (wind and flood), coastal
processes and building codes. They are deployed after disaster
events for which damage summaries and subsequent conclusions and
recommendations are likely to have national implications.
In addition, a Rapid Response Data Collection Team performed
field observations after Hurricane Frances. This team focused on
critical and essential facilities, such as hospitals and
schools.
The observations, conclusions and recommendations of the Charley
and Ivan MATs are presented in FEMA publications 488 and 489,
respectively, and can be obtained at no cost from FEMA. The two
reports include more than 45 pages and 55 photos pertaining to roof
system and rooftop equipment performance. Following is an overview
of the reports.
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