Symposium on Wind Hazards

9988226Mehta美国的风暴，如飓风和龙卷风，目前造成高水平的死亡和受伤，业务中断，大量财产损失，以及人们生活的中断。 据估计，每年平均有30，000多所房屋或住宅单元因极端风事件而被毁或无法居住。 在过去的20年里，仅飓风一项就给美国造成了1000亿美元的损失。1999年冬天，将在华盛顿举行一次专题讨论会。 研讨会的目的有两个：1）确定建筑师、工程师、建筑法规官员、建筑商、贷款人和其他参与建筑业的人以及决策者的科学和技术方案以及公共政策问题，（2）采取措施，以创新的系统为导向，发展技术研究重点，减轻风暴影响的长期方法。 研讨会的地点选择允许连接行业的所有利益相关者和决策者轻松访问。 是次研讨会将开放予公众人士参加，为期两天，上午及下午各有四位主讲嘉宾及六场小组讨论。 这种形式旨在征求研讨会所有与会者的参与。 该研讨会由美国风力工程协会主办，并由几个组织共同主办，包括美国土木工程师协会（ASCE），国家标准与技术研究所（NIST），国家海洋和大气管理局（NOAA），联邦应急管理局（FEMA），国家住宅建筑商协会（NAHB）等。

9988226MehtaWindstorms in the United States, such as hurricanes and tornadoes, currently cause high levels of deaths and injuries, business interruption, a large amount of property damage, and disruption in the lives of people. It is estimated that an average of more than 30,000 homes or dwelling units are destroyed or made uninhabitable each year as a result of extreme wind events. Over the last twenty years, from hurricanes alone, the losses in the United States are $100 billion in 1999 dollars.A symposium will be held in Washington, DC, during the winter of 1999. The purpose of the symposium is two-fold: 1) to identify scientific and technical programs as well as public policy issues from architects, engineers, building code officials, builders, lenders and others involved in the construction industry, as well as decision-makers, and 2) to take steps toward innovative system-oriented developments of research thrusts in technologies for immediate and long-term approach for mitigating the impact of windstorms. The venue for the symposium is chosen to permit easy access by all stakeholders in the connection industry and decision-makers. The symposium will be open to the public.The format for the symposium will be four keynote speakers in the mornings and afternoons of the two days and six panel discussions. This format is designed to solicit participation by all attendees of the symposium. The symposium is sponsored by the American Association for Wind Engineering and co-sponsored by several organizations including the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and others.