In January 2021, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) published FEMA P-2090/NIST SP-1254 Recommended Options for Improving the Built Environment for Post-Earthquake Reoccupancy and Functional Recovery Time, providing recommendations for enabling recovery from extreme seismic events.
The first two of the seven recommendations in the report are (1) to develop a framework for post-earthquake reoccupancy and functional recovery objectives, and (2) to design new buildings to meet recovery-based objectives.
Currently, the National Institute for Building Standards (NIBS) Building Seismic Safety Council, with support from FEMA, is developing the 2026 NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures (NEHRP Provisions) and defining functional recovery design criteria will be one of the key efforts during this NEHRP Provisions cycle.
As the source material for ASCE and IBC seismic design requirements, the NEHRP Provisions build on the latest ASCE 7-22 Seismic Chapters and make modifications based on recent research and development, lessons learned from seismic events, and practitioner feedback.
The Functional Recovery Task Committee, via the Provisions Update Committee, has convened five topic subcommittees to define: Recovery Key Terms, Categories, Time Targets, Prescriptive Provisions, and Hazard Levels.