Illinois § 15

§ 15.

Inclement weather risk reduction. Warehouse facilities constructed after the effective date of this Act must provide the means, through modification, installation, or demonstration via rational analysis, to meet a life-safety performance level for tornado loading that is equivalent to, or exceeds, the life-safety performance level for the most onerous of other building code-prescribed extreme environmental loading events, such as hurricane, wind, earthquake, fire, and flood. The evaluation may incorporate statistical analyses of published data sets for extreme load intensity versus probability of exceedance, such as ASCE/SEI 7-22 Appendix G; occupancy load; facility location; and building construction type and may follow non-prescriptive performance-based methods to achieve the desired level. In lieu of this risk-targeted approach, the evaluating design professional may elect to follow prescriptive methods as outlined in the Federal Emergency Management Agency standard P-431, Tornado Protection: Selecting Refuge Areas in Buildings and the Best Available Refuge Area Checklist to ensure that shelter areas designated in tornado safety plans are qualified as the best available refuge areas. (Source: P.A. 104-262, eff. 8-15-25.)