Abstract
Abstract. The recent increase in frequency and severity of flooding in the UK has led to a shift in the perception of risk associated with flood hazards. This has extended to the conservation community, and the risks posed to historic structures that suffer from flooding are particularly concerning for those charged with preserving and maintaining such buildings. In order to fully appraise the risks in a manner appropriate to the complex issue of preservation, a new methodology is presented here that studies the nature of the vulnerability of such structures, and places it in the context of risk assessment, accounting for the vulnerable object and the subsequent exposure of that object to flood hazards. The testing of the methodology is carried out using three urban case studies and the results of the survey analysis provide guidance on the development of fragility curves for historic structures exposed to flooding. This occurs through appraisal of vulnerability indicators related to building form, structural and fabric integrity, and preservation of architectural and archaeological values. Key findings of the work include determining the applicability of these indicators to fragility analysis, and the determination of the relative vulnerability of the three case study sites.
Highlights
In recent years numerous extreme precipitation events and subsequent flood events have occurred in the UK
Provisional analysis suggests that such an event has a return period of over 300 yr (Hannaford, 2009), whilst an extreme rainfall event contributing 145 mm of rain falling in 25 h at Pershore, Gloucestershire in July 2007 was associated with a return period in excess of 1000 yr (NERC, 2007)
The widespread inundation of Southern England in the winter of 2000/01, the most severe nationwide flood episode since the snowmelt of 1947 (NERC, 2000), and the widespread flooding of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire in 2007 (Marsh and Hannaford, 2007), have impacted upon large numbers of UK historic structures and increasing concern has been voiced on risks posed by flood events to historic buildings, due to varied weather patterns (Cassar, 2005; Sabbioni et al, 2006)
Summary
In recent years numerous extreme precipitation events and subsequent flood events have occurred in the UK. A more suitable approach is one that takes a holistic view of the nature of the historic building as an asset, and looks to determine vulnerability based upon a range of factors that contribute to the overall social and economic value it represents, and its true interaction with the flood water From this assessment the relative vulnerability of stock within an urban historic site can be undertaken and appropriate mitigation measures implemented. Demonstration of the method through three urban case studies shows that these characteristics are able to profile the relative vulnerability of differing historic building typologies and sites, in order to determine the loss they will potentially experience Mapping of this vulnerability within the flood hazard extent provides information critical to the sites’ flood risk management
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