 | | 2003 IRC/IBC Wind Speed Map - State of Louisiana. Institute for Business and Home Safety. Click the image to enlarge. |
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The wind hazard zones for Louisiana are shown in the Wind Speed Map.
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South Louisiana is in a hurricane zone. The closer to the Gulf, the higher the wind risk.
- Tornadoes are common in North Louisiana and can be embedded in hurricanes.
- High winds can put great forces on a building, including shear loads (causing racking), lateral loads (push, pull) on wall connections and uplift on the roof.
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A house in an unobstructed open clearing or within 1,500 feet of open water is susceptible to higher wind forces from unobstructed winds.
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Structural reinforcements can enable homes to withstand hurricane-force winds.
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Rather than fortify the entire structure against winds caused by tornadoes, a specially reinforced “safe room” can more economically provide a shelter that can remain standing even when a house is destroyed.
PLEASE NOTE: Minimum design standards for wind loading have been developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and are referenced in the International Building Code and International Residential Code at the International Code Council Web site http://www.iccsafe.org. Louisiana enacted statewide enforcement of the latest version of the IRC beginning January 1, 2007.
Although the latest version of the IRC at time of adoption by the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code Council (LSUCCC) was the IRC 2006, the wind design provisions from IRC 2003 were held over until the state adopts the IRC 2009.
The LSUCCC officially adopted a wind-speed coded list of Zip+4 delivery routes for determining the relevant wind speed for building construction. The Zip+4 lists, with wind speeds, are posted by parish on the LSUCCC Web site at
http://www.dps.louisiana.gov/lsuccc/windspeed.html.
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