Mississippi has the weakest building standards of all the
hurricane-prone states in the U.S., an insurance industry study
concluded. The state ranked dead last among 18 states near the
Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean in a study by the
Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. Building codes
can help homes withstand hurricanes and tornadoes, and they also
often include measures to reduce electrical, fire and plumbing
problems. Counties and municipal governments along the coast
have worked to fill in the gaps, requiring contractors to follow
international building codes. But the state as a whole lags far
behind. Mississippi "has virtually no regulatory process in
place for building codes," a study summary said, and except for
requirements in some Mississippi counties, there is "no
statewide code, no mandatory enforcement, no programs or
requirements for inspectors, and very few licensing
requirements." Statewide codes set minimum standards for how
structures are built. Building properties to meet su