Significance of Historical Hurricane Activity on Structural Damage Profile and Posthurricane Population Fluctuation in South Florida Urban Areas

Abstract

The historical hurricane tracking records for the last 100 years indicate that the southeast regions of Florida have had the highest frequency of hurricane hits in the United States. Land-use characteristics and the extent of land-development activities are the major factors that contribute to vulnerability to hurricanes in high-risk coastal areas. The objectives of this study were to analyze the structural damages observed after Hurricane Andrew in relation to year of construction of the buildings to assess the impact of historical hurricane experience on building structures and population fluctuations in South Florida, specifically in Dade County. The relatively long period of low hurricane activity from 1950 to 1992 has resulted in increased population density and coastal development in South Florida, significantly increasing the vulnerability of the region. The structural damage data compiled by the Metropolitan Dade Department of Building and Zoning after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 show that the long period of low hurricane activity in Dade County has also resulted in lower construction quality. In general, the older housing units constructed after the previous major hurricanes (in 1926, 1945, and 1950) showed less damage than the units constructed during 1970 to 1990. Although there was a decline in population immediately after Hurricane Andrew, the population increase trend was similar to the prehurricane level after 2 years.