01
Similar buildings can have very different vulnerability profiles.
GALVESTON BAY • HURRICANE IKE
Hurricane Ike: Neighboring Buildings, Different Outcomes
A visual reminder that buildings exposed to the same event can experience very different outcomes depending on their vulnerabilities and protections.
REAL-WORLD LESSON
Risk is rarely isolated.
The ebook describes homes and a Houston high-rise exposed to Hurricane Ike where protected and unprotected glazing experienced different outcomes. For consulting purposes, the broader lesson is to identify why apparently similar facilities can have very different loss profiles.
This case is presented as a risk-assessment lesson drawn from Michael Fjetland's Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood. The consulting objective is not to prescribe a particular product. It is to identify the weak link, understand the consequences of failure, compare practical mitigation choices and help leadership prioritize action.
WHAT THIS CASE TEACHES
Four questions for leadership
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Prior mitigation can materially change the consequences of the same hazard.
03
Photographic evidence is valuable during facility risk reviews.
04
Assessments should document both vulnerabilities and existing protective measures.
FROM LESSONS TO ACTION