[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10831-10832]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       TRIBUTE TO HERBERT SAFFIR

 Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, today I would like to recognize an 
outstanding Floridian, Mr. Herbert Saffir. Herb Saffir graduated from 
the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1940 with a bachelor's degree in 
civil engineering. He served in the Army during World War II and worked 
as an engineer with Federal agencies and private-sector firms in New 
York, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia before moving to South Florida in 
1947. For the next 12 years he was an assistant county engineer for 
Miami-Dade County. In 1959, he started his own structural engineering 
firm, Herbert Saffir Consulting Engineers, in Coral Gables, FL.
  Herb Saffir is considered one of the foremost experts on engineering 
buildings to resist damage by high winds. His expertise was so integral 
in the formulating of the building codes in South Florida that he is 
known as the ``father of the Miami building code.'' Although this is a 
great achievement, Herb Saffir's accolades go even further.
  In 1972, Robert Simpson, former Director of the National Hurricane 
Center had difficulty describing to emergency management and disaster 
officials what kind of damage to expect

[[Page 10832]]

from approaching hurricanes. It was determined that a scale was needed 
to give disaster officials an idea of what to expect from a storm. Herb 
Saffir was enlisted to work with Simpson on this project. Together they 
created the Saffir-Simpson Damage Potential Scale, which established 
the five categories of hurricane severity. The Saffir-Simpson Scale is 
still used today and is a vital tool to assess the possible destruction 
associated with an approaching hurricane.
  When Hurricane Andrew tore through Florida in August 1992, weather 
forecasters relayed information on the powerful storm to concerned 
citizens using the ratings system. But, Herb Saffir was not satisfied 
to just lend his name to the efforts to mitigate damage from Hurricane 
Andrew. He also lent a hand. Using his vast engineering knowledge and 
experience, Mr. Saffir was integral in the rebuilding of South Florida. 
He was recognized for his efforts with the Florida Engineering 
Society's Engineer of the Year Award in 1994.
  Mr. Saffir's work continues to be recognized today. The American 
Society of Civil Engineers recently recognized Mr. Saffir for his 
research and development of wind-damage analysis on structures, and for 
the creation of the Saffir-Simpson Scale now used extensively by 
emergency management organizations as far away as Australia. In fact, 
the National Hurricane Center described Mr. Saffir as ``a national 
treasure.''
  Herb Saffir is a remarkable American and a credit to the State of 
Florida. It brings me great joy to recognize his accomplishments 
today.

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