IBHS Experts Present Research Papers at
American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting
Tampa, Fla. (Feb. 4, 2014) – Three Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) staff members will present papers this week at the 94th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society.
Dr. Tanya Brown, research engineer, Dr. Ian Giammanco, research scientist, and Fred Malik, FORTIFIED program manager, will join atmospheric scientists and researchers this week in Atlanta, Georgia, to share the latest findings on climate and weather-related matters. This year’s theme, “Extreme Weather Climate and the Built Environment: New Perspectives, Opportunities, and Tools,” will explore the relationships between scientific inquiry, technological advances, societal implications, and public awareness.
“It’s an honor to present our research to such a distinguished group of authorities on climate and weather,” Brown said. “We’re proud to represent IBHS at a meeting of some of the world’s foremost authorities in meteorology.”
Dr. Brown’s paper, “Claims Analysis of May 24, 2011 Hailstorms in Dallas-Fort Worth,” analyzes property claims and policy-in-force data for more than 67,000 residential properties located in 20 ZIP Codes in the area affected by a series of thunderstorms that produced significant hail in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex on May 24, 2011. The storms caused an estimated $877 million in insured damages to property and automobiles.
Dr. Giammanco’s paper, “Observations of Hailstone Characteristics in Multi-cell and Supercell Thunderstorms,” details the data collected during hail field research studies IBHS conducted in 2012 and 2013, which show that the hardness property of hailstones can be quantified through in-situ measurements. These data have also have provided validation and guidance to improve laboratory hailstone impact testing at the IBHS Research Center. Scientists created the first-ever indoor hailstorm at the IBHS facility in February 2013, using some of the field study data discussed in Dr. Giammanco’s paper to create highly realistic artificial hailstones.
In his paper, “IBHS FORTIFIED Home™: An Incremental, Holistic Approach to Reducing Residential Property Damage and Losses from Extreme Weather-Related Events,” Malik details FORTIFEID Home™, an IBHS program created in 2010 that offers guidance for retrofitting existing homes or building new homes to reduce vulnerability to extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, wind-driven wildfires, hail and various types of severe windstorms. The paper addresses the criteria associated with different designation levels for each of the hazards, the logic behind the development of the tiered system, and the elements of the designation process.
For more information about the conference, visit http://annual.ametsoc.org/2014/index.cfm/programs-and-events/.
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About The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)
IBHS is an independent, nonprofit, scientific research and communications organization supported by the property insurance industry. The organization works to reduce the social and economic effects of natural disasters and other risks on residential and commercial property by conducting building science research and advocating improved construction, maintenance and preparedness practices.