Loss Analysis for Combined Wind and Surge in Hurricanes

Abstract

Residential buildings in coastal areas are often at risk to hurricanes, which can result in both wind and surge damage. In the United States, economic losses average approximately $US5.4 billion annually from hurricanes, and more than 75% of declared federal disasters are a result of flooding. Although current design codes do consider load combinations, these are generally for nonenvironmental (natural hazard) loading and focus on dead and live loads; their combination with each environmental load is considered individually. This paper presents correlations between hurricane winds and wind-induced surge from a flood standpoint to estimate the loss to residential construction from combined wind and surge using assembly-based vulnerability. The method presented for estimating loss from combined wind and surge in hurricanes may be used for design code assessment and calibration, retrofit planning for buildings in coastal areas, disaster-planning purposes, and potentially insurance underwriting.