Calibration exercises should be undertaken to determine the impact of introducing climate change and wind-speed effects in the design of various types of buildings and structures – such as hospitals, industrial facilities and houses.
Training should be conducted for design and checking authority engineers in the use of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as amended by the new Caribbean Basin wind hazard maps and taking into account climate change factors. ASCE Standards provide technical guidelines for promoting safety, reliability, productivity and efficiency across all areas of civil engineering.
All new Government facilities required for post-hurricane response should have their designs and construction quality assurance systems subjected to independent review by knowledgeable, experienced, Registered Professional Engineers, with certified expertise in wind analysis for structures.
All existing Government facilities required for post-hurricane response should be subjected to vulnerability analyses to establish the need, or otherwise, for retrofitting to accommodate the new wind-resistant standards.