Hazus Hurricane Wind Model for the US Caribbean Territories: Hazard Modeling and Development of Residential Damage Functions

Abstract

The Hazus Hurricane Model has been extended to include the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The hurricane hazard model uses the same model incorporated into the design wind speeds given in US and Caribbean wind loading provisions wind hazard maps for the US mainland and the US Caribbean islands. The validity of the hurricane hazard model for use in the Caribbean is documented herein. New damage functions were developed to model the different construction methods used in the region as compared to the mainland United States. These damage functions include new models for metal roofs developed using finite-element analyses and then parameterized for use with a range of sizes, metal thicknesses, and attachment spacings.