Application of the hybrid ABV procedure for assessing community risk to hurricanes spatially

In 2011, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that the coastal population of the US that lives within 50 miles of the shoreline exceeded 50 % for the first time in history in spite of a high level of exposure to hurricanes and related flooding. Hurricane Andrew (1992), Mitch (1998), Ivan (2004), Katrina (2005), and Sandy (2012) are recent reminders of both the financial and human toll that result from hurricanes. Generally, hurricanes bring with them torrential rains and storm surges which enable destructive flooding inland and at the coastal (land–sea) interface and cause extensive and severe damages to residential structures and fatalities. An improved understanding of hurricanes and its interactive effects on the built environment will significantly reduce structural and non-structural damage and loss of life. This paper presents the method and results of a study that focused on application of a hybrid loss model which combines structural and non-structural damage vulnerabilities to quantify the damage and subsequent loss as a result of hurricanes, but particularly the extension to the community level. The methodology presented in this paper will help enable designers and/or planners to assess the change in anticipated losses at the community level as a result of one or more mitigation strategies as well as provide insight into land use planning. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013