It pays to build to withstand disasters

In addition to property and business losses, the new study included less-obvious costs like treating post-traumatic stress disorder, losing access to fire stations and hospitals, and paying search and rescue workers.

And researchers asked a new question: What would the cost-benefit ratio be if, for one year, all new private sector buildings in high-risk areas were constructed to exceed existing codes?

 “There is nothing wrong with existing codes. Their purpose is to protect human life and they do that very well,” said Porter.

But when it comes to preventing buildings from becoming unusable, they can fall short, his research shows. (One CU Boulder study led by Porter found that should a 7.0 earthquake hit a metropolitan area in California, 25 percent of the buildings up to code would be collapsed, unsafe or damaged enough that use is restricted).

“We wanted to find out what would happen if the goal of codes were to protect human life and to have the most resilient building stock possible that still makes economic sense.”

A good investment
With the $27.4 billion the government invested in the past quarter-century, it will save $157.9 billion, the study found. Going forward, if private builders invested an additional $3.6 billion for just one year to exceed code, society would save $15.5 billion.

In some areas of the country, the return would be even greater.

“There are counties in California where it makes economic sense to make buildings three times as strong and stiff as code requires and the benefit cost ratio could reach 8-to-1,” said Porter.

In several Colorado counties in the wildland-urban interface, requiring builders to adopt the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, which requires things like fire-proof roofing materials, could save $3 for every $1 spent.

Porter hopes the study will encourage lawmakers to invest more in hazard mitigation. Future studies will explore what society can do to incentivize builders to do the same.

“This past year was the costliest ever in the United States in terms of recorded disaster losses,” said Peek. “This report charts a clear path forward, illustrating that investments that we make before disaster strikes can help reduce the harm and suffering caused by these events.”