Homes built under Florida’s tougher building codes, enacted in 2002, seem to have fared better in Hurricane Irma, per The Real Deal.

Preliminary evidence is showing that homes built under the newer, stricter codes sustained less damage. The new codes mimicked changes the state made in response to Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which caused widespread damage to the Miami area. With the changes enacted in recent years, Florida has some of the nation’s strongest building codes.

While acknowledging that it’s early in the assessment process, Rusty Payton, chief executive of the Florida Home Builders Association, told the Wall Street Journal that the state’s stricter set of construction standards “did its job.”

It is important to note, however, that only a fraction of homes in Florida were built under the new codes. According to the American Community Survey, fewer than 28 percent of Miami-Dade homes have been constructed according to the codes. Most of Florida’s housing stock was built prior to the code changes.

Among other provisions, the tougher codes passed in 2002 call for new homes to have stronger fasteners to help prevent roofs and windows from sustaining damage in high winds.

Bill Wheat, executive vice president and chief financial officer of home builder D.R. Horton Inc., backed up Payton’s statement saying that initial evidence indicates that Florida homes in compliance with post-Andrew building standards “have held up relatively well.”