The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) and Munich Re, US recently launched a new app to help builders, contractors, architects and homeowners design and build stronger, safer structures for severe weather.

FORTIFIED Home On the Go is an interactive tablet app available for free from the iTunes Store. It helps homeowners, contractors and architects strengthen homes. The information includes videos, animations and technical specifications for retrofitting or building new single family homes.

Information in the app is taken from IBHS’ FORTIFIED Home program, which provides a set of building standards for homes in tornado- and hurricane-prone areas.

“This new app is a joint project between Munich Re, US, and IBHS, who share a commitment to conduct scientific research and promote ways to strengthen homes, businesses and communities against natural disasters,” said Carl Hedde, head of risk accumulation with Munch Re, US and a past chairman of IBHS. “The public is seeing first-hand what staggering losses can be wreaked by severe weather and can now use this app to help make their homes more resistant to the effects of the dramatic weather events we are experiencing.”

“The FORTIFIED Home program adds system-specific upgrades to minimum code requirements to ensure homes are habitable and personal mementos are protected after a catastrophic weather event,” said Julie Rochman, IBHS president and CEO. “We can’t keep building homes the same way in the same places and expect a different outcome when severe weather strikes. We have to build and retrofit homes to be stronger in the face whatever Mother Nature our way.”

Disastersafety.org/fortified