New construction guidelines developed by the International Code Council will increase public safety in hurricane prone areas and other high-wind regions. The Standard for Residential Construction in High Wind Regions (ICC-600) provides wind-resistant design and construction details for residential buildings. The standard applies to areas where wind speeds reach 100-150 miles per hour, including the hurricane prone regions of the east and gulf coasts, coastal Alaska, and the special wind region of the Columbia River Gorge in Washington and Oregon.

ICC-600, approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an American National Standard, uses the latest engineering knowledge to improve the structural integrity and performance of homes. The standard is an update to SSTD 10-99 and includes new provisions such as prescriptive designs for wind speeds up to 150 mph with three-second gusts, designs for cold-formed steel framing and exterior wall coverings for high wind.