In response to the recent storms that produced several tornadoes across northeastern Oklahoma, northern Texas, Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas, Simpson Strong-Tie is donating $50,000 to the American Red Cross for direct support services the organization is providing to those who were affected.

Eleven families who lost their homes during last year’s tornadoes in western Kentucky were presented new transitional housing today, thanks to the efforts of the local construction industry and other community groups. Construction firms belonging to the Associated General Contractors of Western Kentucky, as well as the Bread of Life Humanitarian Effort, helped construct, furnish and supply the new housing.

A proposal to incorporate the first U.S. guidance on tornado-resistant design into the model 2024 International Building Code passed the International Code Council’s structural committee by a vote of 14-0, at recent model code hearings in Rochester, N.Y.