The Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues Inc. (RICOWI) board of directors has announced deployment of four teams to investigate the damage to roofs from Hurricane Michael in the Panama City, Fla., area; this will be the sixth hurricane team deployment.
The Wind Investigation Program (WIP) teams arrived in Panama City to begin their research Oct. 25-26. Team members for the hurricane wind investigations are wind engineers, roofing material specialists, insurance analysts, structural engineers and consultants. A report will be generated and available online at www.ricowi.com.
The WIP mission is to investigate the field performance of roof assemblies after major wind storm events; factually describe roof assembly performance and modes of damage; and formally report results of investigations and damage modes for substantiated wind speeds.
The purpose of the program is to place experts in the field who have the required product knowledge and program training to ensure sound, scientific and unbiased reporting. Reports generated by RICOWI investigation teams are used to help educate; improve products, installation techniques and safety; and reduce overall roofing and insurance costs for the industry. The results also will provide a valuable resource for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and state emergency management agencies.
"RICOWI volunteers will provide factual information on the roof damage, based on wind speed and other data", says RICOWI Chairman David Balistreri. "Clearly, this information will improve the roofing structure and greatly help the community in the long term."
Before Hurricane Michael, RICOWI conducted five of the most comprehensive roofing investigations of hurricane-stricken areas: Hurricanes Charley (August 2004), Ivan (September 2004), Katrina (August 2005) Ike (September 2008) and Irma (October 2017). All research reports are available online for download at www.ricowi.com.
