Building Performance in Southwest Florida During Hurricane Ian
Hurricane Ian made landfall along the barrier island of Cayo Costa near Punta Gorda, Florida, on September 28, 2022, as a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Research
Hurricane Ian represented the most significant test of the modern Florida Building Code since Hurricane Charley (2004), which struck nearly the exact same area. While catastrophic storm surge caused extensive damage across Fort Myers Beach, with a peak inundation of fifteen feet, post-event wind field analyses from Moody’s RMS HWIND wind field model suggested that areas from Sanibel Island through Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda experienced peak wind gusts between 150-160 mph, just below a design-level wind event per the current modern Florida Building Code.
The area impacted by Hurricane Ian’s winds featured a diverse building stock varying in age, construction type, roof covers, and whether structures had been repaired or replaced after Hurricane Charley (2004). To assess performance, IBHS used aerial imagery, from NOAA and EagleView, and street level imagery from the National Science Foundation’s Structural Extreme Events Reconnaissance (StEER) teams.
In total, the assessment included:
- 3,646 single-family homes
- 327 light commercial buildings
- 133 multifamily structures (e.g., condos, townhomes, and duplexes).
Technical Report Series
Part I focuses on roof cover performance for both steep- and low-slope roofs.
Part II analyzes structural building performance in relation to the modern Florida Building Code, with an expanded evaluation of multifamily structures.
