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<br />, <br />I <br />Ii <br />I, <br />I, <br />, <br />" <br />,. <br /> <br />.1 <br /> <br />1 Introduction <br /> <br />l <br />i, <br /> <br />1 .1 PURPOSE <br /> <br />This report presents the findings of the Building Performance Assessment Team (BPAT) <br />regarding building successes and failures during Hurricane Opal and recommends mitigation <br />measures that will enhance the performance of buildings in future storms. The Appendix lists the <br />BPAT members. <br /> <br />Typical construction types are defined for structures built prior to and after the affected <br />communities' adoption of the floodplain management ordinance required for participation in <br />the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Because the ordinance is based on flood hazard <br />information shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) issued for each community, these <br />structures are referred to as "pre-FIRM" and "post-FIRM," respectively. The BPAT's observations <br />regarding flood and wind damage caused by the storm are described in detail, and <br />recommendations are presented regarding design and construction of new structures and <br />substantial improvements to existing structures; permitting, plan review, and inspection; <br />construction materials; and repair and retrofit of damaged structures. <br /> <br />1.2 BACKGROUND <br /> <br />Hurricane Opal made landfall on Santa Rosa Island, in Santa Rosa County, Florida, near <br />Navarre Beach, at approximately 6:00 p.m. c.d.t. (central daylight time) on Wednesday, October <br />4,1995. Fifteen counties in the Florida Panhandle were declared Federal disaster areas (see <br />Figure 1-1). Most of the damage was concentrated in six counties: Escambia, Santa Rosa, <br />Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, and Gulf. Lee County, along the gulf coast in southwest Florida, was <br />declared a Federal disaster area because of rainfall-induced flooding associated with the same <br />storm system. <br /> <br />The most severe damage caused by Opal was concentrated along a 200-mile stretch of <br />Florida's Gulf of Mexico shoreline, between Pensacola Beach (Escambia County) and St. Joseph <br />Spit (Gulf County). This is the area where the BPAT conducted its field inspections (see Figure <br />1-1). The results of these inspections and the BPAT'5 review of post -storm video taken by the <br />Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) , Bureau of Beaches and Coastal <br />Systems, led to the conclusion that most of the structural damage associated with the storm was <br />caused by coastal flood forces - storm surge, wind-generated waves, storm-induced erosion, and <br />floodbome debris. Flood damage also occurred along the shorelines of Santa Rosa Sound, <br />Choctawhatchee Bay, and other inland waters. <br /> <br />Wind damage along the coast was confined largely to roof damage, sign damage, tree <br />damage, and similar impacts and wasjudged by the BPAT to be less severe and less extensive than <br />the flood damage. However, wind damage extended throughout the affected counties. <br />Newspaper accounts indicated that approximately 18,000 dwelling units (e.g., homes, apartments, <br />hotel/motel units) in 10 panhandle counties were rendered uninhabitable by Hurricane Opal <br />and approximately one-fifth of these units were destroyed (Panama City News Herald 1995). The <br />BPAT was unable to confirm these estimates. <br /> <br />HURRICANE OPAL IN FLORIDA <br /> <br />1-1 <br />