Nadal, Norberto C.

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    Expected flood damage to buildings in riverine and coastal zones
    (2007) Nadal, Norberto C.; Zapata-López, Raúl E.; College of Engineering; Pagán-Trinidad, Ismael; López-Rodríguez, Ricardo; Segarra-García, Rafael; Department of Civil Engineering; Just, Frederick
    The methodologies used to estimate flood damage to buildings are typically based on aftermath surveys and statistical analyses of insurance claims data that do not consider the direct effects of floodwater hydrodynamics. Flood parameters other than floodwater depth are frequently suggested as being important in the estimation of damages, but have not been thoroughly or systematically analyzed. This research work constitutes an original approach to model the expected flood damage to buildings located in riverine and costal zones, based on analytical representations of the failure mechanisms of individual building components. The diverse flood actions that can be generated during flooding events include: hydrostatic and hydrodynamic forces, waves, turbulent bores, debris impacts, and time-dependant local soil scour. The risk of flood damage was assessed at several locations within the watershed of Río Grande de Añasco in Puerto Rico, as a case study example. Risk indexes, such as the expected annual loss (EAL) and the probable maximum loss due to a 500-year flood (PML500), were computed at these locations. The EAL was found to range between 0.69% and 1.43%, while the PML500 varied from 18.5% to 23.3%. Likewise, at the coastal zones delimited by the Río Grande de Añasco watershed, the EAL ranged from 2.16% to 4.87%, while the PML500 varied between 33.2% and 51.6%. This research work provides a theoretical basis to estimate damage when surveyed data or insurance claims data is not available, or when the available data is insufficient or unreliable. It represents an improvement upon existing flood damage estimation methodologies. In addition, the results show how floodwater velocity can increase the flood damage outcome, and demonstrate the real need of considering floodwater hydrodynamics in the vulnerability assessment of buildings located in flood prone areas. The developed methodology could serve as a decision-making tool to assist researchers, designers, and emergency management agencies to identify zones of high risk, and to implement the necessary preventive measures and mitigation strategies to reduce the adverse impact of potential flooding events.