Risk-based assessment of wood residential construction subjected to hurricane events considering indirect and environmental loss

Abstract

Wood residential construction is susceptible to natural hazards such as hurricanes, which was evident in recent hurricanes such as Hurricane Sandy. Traditional loss analysis typically considers direct loss and thus does not provide a comprehensive estimation of total loss that also includes indirect and environmental losses. This paper proposes a framework to evaluate direct, indirect, and environmental losses of wood residential construction subjected to hurricane events considering a changing climate. The framework contains hurricane simulations including stationary and non-stationary scenarios, time-dependent fragility for key components of building envelop, and loss analysis including direct, indirect, and environmental losses of wood residential construction subjected to hurricane events. It is found that the potential effects of climate change may have a significant impact on the structural vulnerability; indirect and environmental losses account for approximately half of the total losses. The proposed framework can be used for decision-makers and designers to achieve the goal of more resilient and environmentally sustainable structures.

Keywords:

• Climate change
• environmental loss
• fragility
• hurricane resiliency
• indirect loss
• sustainability

Acknowledgments

The research described in this paper was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Catalyzing New International Collaborations Program, and Infrastructure Management and Extreme Events Program [grant number NSF-1050443]. This support is gratefully acknowledged. However, the writers take sole responsibility for the views expressed in this paper, which may not represent the position of the NSF or their respective institutions.