Oklahoma is well known as one of the states in “Tornado Alley,” the path many tornados take as theywork their way up from central Texas to eastern South Dakota.

The destruction left behind in many communities in these statesis devastating, and it can take residents years to rebuild theirhomes and their lives. the Insurance Institute for Business & HomeSafety (IBHS) has been at the forefront of research to helphomeowners construct houses that are more resistant to high windsand hail, saving lives, protecting property — and possiblyreducing insurance rates.

Today, one lucky family received the key to the first FORTIFIED Home™–High Wind & Hail—Gold home incentral Oklahoma from the Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity affiliate(COHFH) and experts from IBHS at a house dedication ceremony.

“Our communities in central Oklahoma continue to be hit bydamaging high winds and hail, so we are pleased to partner withIBHS to build stronger homes for our families by implementingFORTIFIED Home™ superior construction standards and buildingpractices,” said Ann Felton Gilliland, chairman and CEO of COHFH.“We plan to build 45 FORTIFIED Home™–High Wind & Hail Goldhomes during 2017 across Central Oklahoma.”

The IBHS' FORTIFIED Home™–High Wind & Hail buildingstandards are intended to help homeowners strengthen their homesagainst low-level tornadoes and high winds at the edges of strongtornadoes, straight-line wind events, severe thunderstorms and hailstorms. According to IBHS, the FORTIFIED Home™–High Wind & Hailprogram provides a “uniform, voluntary, superior set of buildingstandards to help improve a home's resilience” by addingsystem-specific upgrades to minimum code requirements. The programhas three levels of designation that build upon each level:

• Bronze (the roof),
• Silver (gable ends, chimneys and attachments like porches andcarports), and
• Gold (continuous load path).

Property damage to homes from EF-0 and EF-1tornadoes can be virtually eliminated if they are built orretrofitted using FORTIFIED standards, IBHS research shows.

Better preparation to withstand damage

“Oklahoma averages 69 tornadoes a year,” said Oklahoma InsuranceCommissioner John D. Doak. “While tornadoes are severe weatherevents that people cannot control, we can use the most advancedtechniques to prepare for them. The COHFH is doing the right thingby building FORTIFIED homes that will make a lasting difference inthe safety and security of our communities.”

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“Almost 97 percent of tornadoes that occurred in Oklahoma duringthe last 20 years were within the EF-0 to EF-2 range with windspeeds of 135 mph or less. If we look at the Moore 2013 tornado, 88percent of the damage was caused by wind speeds rated EF2 or lower.If the homes in the tornado's path had been built to the FORTIFIEDHome™–High Wind & Hail Gold-level standard, it is estimatedthat more than 1,000 damaged homes could have withstood thedestructive forces experienced that day without major damage,”continued Doak.

“People often ask why the FORTIFIED Home™ programs are necessarywhen many jurisdictions have building codes in place. The answer iscodes appropriately provide minimum life safety protection designedto ensure people can get out of a building safely. Codes are notintended to ensure homes are habitable after a catastrophicevent or to protect the contents inside a home,” said Alex Cary,manager of FORTIFIED programs.

“Habitat for Humanity is a very important partner for IBHS andthe FORTIFIED Home programs. This partnership has shown that homescan be more resilient and still affordable for its partnerfamilies. We are pleased to work with the COHFH affiliate and helpextend the long-lasting benefits of building stronger, safer andmore durable homes for communities across Central Oklahoma,”continued Cary.