The National Council of Structural Engineers Associations’ (NCSEA) thoughts are with the families and communities affected by Hurricane Ian. As Structural Engineers, this event affects us deeply, both personally and professionally, as our life’s work is to help ensure public safety in the built environment.

NCSEA’s Structural Engineering Emergency Response (SEER) Committee has sent notices regarding 2^nd responder activation to all that are registered on the Disaster Response Alliance (DRA) database as a means of readying qualified personnel for deployment to the affected areas.

NCSEA remains committed to our continued engagement in code development focused on hurricane and flood risk mitigation. The NCSEA Wind Committee will continue to advocate for strengthened building code provisions for structures in high wind and hurricane-prone regions of the United States.

Events such as this are a stark reminder of the important role Structural Engineers have in disaster response. Following are some actions your SEA and its members can take now that will help bolster the response of the structural engineering community to this and future disasters:

SEA:

• Generate a disaster response plan for your SEA. Contact NCSEA Board Vice President Ryan Kersting for guidance and to find out about NCSEA’s Disaster Response Plan at rkersting@buehlerengineering.com

• To get help with your SEA’s response to media inquiries about this disaster or for help with generating a media response plan for your SEA, contact Angelina Stasulis, NCSEA External Communications Committee Chair angelina.v.stasulis@gmail.com Also, please see the attached Hurricane FAQ for answers to some questions that you or your membership might be asked in the coming days. All of the FAQ responses were prepared by the NCSEA Wind Committee.

• Create a SEER committee at your SEA to support regional response to future disasters. Contact NCSEA SEER Committee for support at seer@ncsea.com

• If you have questions about the role of NCSEA’s SEER Committee in the response to this disaster, send an email to seer@ncsea.com

 

Individuals:

• To get trained and certified in disaster response, visit the Disaster Response Alliance (DRA) website www.disasterresponse.org/get-training

•  If you are already trained and certified in disaster response, please check www.disasterresponse.org to make sure you are registered with the DRA and that your contact information and qualifications are up to date and correct.

• Please do not self-deploy to the affected areas. Deployment of second responders must be executed through proper established channels to ensure a coordinated, effective response.

 

Click here to view and/or download the Hurricane FAQ.