ICLR to host special webinar on Ontario tornado damage, building code deficiencies

The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction will be hosting a special webinar on July 3 on the recent tornado that struck Angus, Ont.

Dr. Gregory Kopp, a professor of civil engineering with Western University, will discuss the observed damage, which was primarily to residential structures, caused by the EF-2 rated tornado that hit the town on June 17.

First thing the morning of June 18, Western University engineering’s Storm Damage Assessment Team, led by Kopp, was on the ground to work with Environment Canada to assess and rate the tornado. The team also worked to map the storm track and document damage to 85 homes, 10 of which had complete roof failures. The team found several code deficiencies in Angus, including missing toe-nails and, in some cases, missing wall-to-floor connections.

For more than a decade, Kopp has studied the performance of houses in severe storms, including wind tunnel studies, experiments on full-scale houses and field investigations following tornadoes, hurricanes and other severe storms.

Houses in Angus were built in the last few years, and the damage from the June 17 storm reflect weak points in current construction practices and building codes, ICLR notes. During the webinar, Kopp will highlight relatively simple and inexpensive measures that could have reduced the worst of the damage.

The event will be held from 10:00 am to 11:30 am ET on July 3.

Participants can visit the Webex event page on the day of the webinar and use the following dial-in and password information:

Local: (416) 343-2657

Toll Free: 1-866-440-8938

Conference ID: 1712397

Password: kopp

RSVP: Tracy Waddington (twaddington@iclr.org)