Abstract
Storm surge is the leading cause of loss of life and property from hurricanes. Recent research using geographical information system (GIS) technology has demonstrated sea level rise (SLR) will increase storm surge inundation zones. While effective and accepted GIS models exist for framing surge inundation there is a lack of depth information and consideration of SLR that may be critical for examining the exposure of coastal assets to current and future storm surge hazards. There is a need for a methodology that relates depth to inundation and asset exposure, and is supported by recent hazard vulnerability and resilience literature. Furthermore, new data has been collected that facilitates more detailed SLR modelling than available in previous research. Researchers provide a framework for GIS depth modelling of contemporary and SLR enhanced storm surge that is superior to two-dimensional inundation modelling for examining exposure of societal assets to storm surge and SLR in Sarasota County, Florida. The effectiveness of this framework is demonstrated in a GIS by comparing inundation modelling, depth modelling, and SLR modelling as applied to the exposure of flood-depth sensitive infrastructure in Sarasota County, Florida.
Highlights
During the 20th Century flooding caused more damage to life and property in the United States than any other natural disaster [1]
Category 3 demonstrates a similar pattern with SLOSH showing thirteen exposed substations, and the depth framework showing fourteen, but only one substation is in the Critical range
This study indicates that sea level rise may not have ‘the equivalent effect on storm surge risk of increasing the intensity of contemporary hurricanes by one Saffir-Simpson category’ [15]
Summary
During the 20th Century flooding caused more damage to life and property in the United States than any other natural disaster [1]. National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data demonstrates that the cost of flood damage to property increases with depth of flood water exposure [2]. Coastal communities in regions prone to hurricanes are at risk of storm surge flooding. The devastation along the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama coasts from Hurricane Katrina confirmed that coastal communities are vulnerable (vulnerability is used here as the ‘susceptibility to be harmed’ [4]) to storm surge exposure. Despite Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) mandated risk assessment plans and early warning systems, storm surge causes 90 percent of hurricane fatalities [1]. HAZUS utilizes SLOSH for its storm surge output, but requires ancillary input that renders the model inappropriate for our targeted application by the necessity for architectural and other data sources that may be underdeveloped in some communities
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