Natural Hazards and Extreme Weather
47 articles in this category
Hurricanes and Severe Windstorms
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 in the Northern Hemisphere. Windstorm is the second highest cause of property loss after fire. Recent severe windstorms have proven that buildings and...
Preventing and Responding to Freeze-Ups
Freeze-ups can cause damage to your site's buildings, operations and fire protection equipment. Here are some basic items that can help prevent and control that damage. Have a winterization plan in...
Liquefaction
Liquefaction, as it relates to earthquakes, occurs when the strength and stiffness of a soil is reduced by the strong shaking caused by seismic events. It more commonly occurs in soils where the...
Automatic Sprinkler Protection for Refrigerated Warehouses
When considering fire protection for situations where temperatures are below freezing, automatic fire sprinklers provide the best fire protection advantages; but sprinkler systems use water, and...
Lightning Protection
For the period 1959-1994, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Publication "Storm Data" indicated over 3,000 deaths, 9,000 injuries and nearly 20,000 property damage reports...
Earthquake Bracing Requirements for FM Global Data Sheet 2-8
This Data Sheet provides a detailed description of the components necessary to guard against earthquakes for a water-based fire protection system. The fire protection system can include sprinkler...
Roof Perimeter Flashing
It's that time of year again for the Northern Hemisphere - Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. As a supplement to our earlier articles dealing with preparing for severe windstorms (see...
Flood Mitigation
We occasionally see on TV news where buildings are inundated or submerged in flood water after heavy rain, typhoons or hurricanes. Many people believe it never happens to their own buildings. But is...
Choosing Structural Systems for Earthquakes
Several factors come into play when it comes to designing earthquake protection for a building. These include site selection, building type and the particular building code used. This month, we will...
Protection Against Exterior Fire Exposure
When it comes to determining the adequacy of fire protection for your building, it is also necessary to consider the potential fire exposure that may exist from an adjacent building and/or adjacent...
Seismic Considerations for Flammable Gas Piping
In our July 2006 article, we described methods for lowering the risk of a fire after an earthquake. One portion of the article discussed ways to protect piping used to transfer flammable liquids and...
Hailstorms
Facts about Hailstorms: Hail develops during most mid-latitude thunderstorms, often melting before reaching the ground. Hail forms in the updraft of a thunderstorm with stronger storms producing...