A home struck by a tornado in Barrie, Ont., lies in ruins in July of 2021.Gregory Kopp of Western University studied the aftermath of the Barrie storm.The researchers also head out into the field, visiting tornado-stricken places to make observations and survey the damage. Prof. Gregory Kopp was among those who travelled to Barrie, Ont., in the wake of the 2021 tornado that caused an estimated $100-million in insured damages across dozens of homes.
Across Canada, a patchwork of codes are in effect, with some jurisdictions working off of decades-old national code editions. There are deficiencies in the climate data that dictate how a structure should be built. And, even in its most recent iteration, the national code doesn’t contain any provisions related to wildfires, permafrost loss, flooding or overheating.
They’re more expensive than toe nails, but are still relatively cheap, costing only a few hundred dollars per home to purchase and install. “When we looked at structures built in the more modern era after being impacted by the winds of Hurricane Ian, they looked great,” said Dr. Anne Cope, chief engineer with the South Carolina-based Insurance Institute for BusinessHome Safety, referring to the category-four hurricane that made landfall last September. “Modern building codes work.”
“You can have it both ways, if cost isn’t an object,” said Mike Memme, operations manager with Mountainview Building Group and a vice-president of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association. He said the association hasn’t yet adopted a position on the Ontario wind-impact proposal, but is supportive of science-based, affordable resilience measures. Speaking in his capacity as a builder, Mr. Memme said it’s inevitable that resilience measures will eventually make their way into the code.
The proposal has gone out for public consultation and is under consideration for the next edition of the provincial code, slated to be in effect in 2024. A spokesperson for the ministry said in an e-mail that the province has also shared the proposal with the National Research Council , the federal agency involved in the national code-making process, for consideration to be added to the national code.
Weird, last year hurricanes had the smallest amount of energy in 42 years. I don’t think these tornados are becoming more destructive