Roofing Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina

Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues, Inc's. Hurricane Katrina Wind Investigation Report, prepared in conjunction with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, assesses damage to roofing caused by  Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. 

One major finding: Peak gust speeds in the inspected areas were estimated at 120 - 130 mph, below the 130 - 150 mph basic design wind speeds required by current codes. As hoped, roofs constructed to current code requirements faired relatively well. Most failures of such roofs were attributable to improper installation or deterioration rather than flaws in the design methodology.