The Code Council's Mike Armstrong, Senior Vice President for Membership and Outreach Services, joined representatives from the U.S. Geological Survey and Federal Emergency Management Agency on a National Building Museum Panel in Washington, D.C., entitled "Preparing for the Big One: Assessing American Building Codes." The panelists addressed the role of codes and other tools designed to understand and mitigate the risk of earthquakes, including applying lessons learned in Chile and Haiti.

Armstrong's presentation focused on how the Code Council's code development process tracks with public policy programs such as the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) and incorporates seismic safety standards that are also recognized in other jurisdictions such as Chile. Adherence to the International Codes, Armstrong said, caused the U.S. Embassy and the Digicell headquarters in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to survive intact. He emphasized that the U.S. is at risk when it retreats from proven mitigation tools contained in current code and when code enforcement capability and professional development is under-funded.

The panelists gave specific reference to the upcoming bicentennial commemoration of the New Madrid quakes in the Central U.S., where older codes add to the existing risk for future earthquake damage. View the video.