Wind Speed Requirements for New Home Construction: New one- and two-family homes, as well as new additions to homes, must be built to withstand wind speeds in their assigned zone. But, in most cases, existing homes that are being elevated in flood zones do not have to retrofit to meet those requirements, and that has some officials concerned.

Wind-Borne Debris Zone: A small part of the state now falls in a wind-borne debris zone. That means new homes or new additions to homes must have windows that can withstand the impact of a 4-foot long 2-by-4 piece of wood traveling at 40 feet per second. Or they must have pre-cut, pre-drilled plywood on site to be placed over every window in the event of a storm.