Building Damage, Wind Speed Estimation, and Post Disaster Recovery in an EF5 Tornado

Abstract

AbstractThis paper presents an overview of the investigation of the damage to buildings caused by an EF5 tornado that hit Parkersburg in Iowa, United States, in May 2008. The tornado wind speed in Parkersburg is estimated on the basis of the degree of damage (DOD), which is defined in the Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale on the basis of damaged buildings, and it is compared with wind speed estimated using an engineering model. The characteristics of the estimated wind speed distribution are consistent between the two methods. With respect to postdisaster activity, the authors carried out field investigations in Parkersburg for four months to ascertain the progress in the recovery process of buildings that sustained damage. It became clear through the investigation that the recovery of damaged buildings depended on the degree of structural damage. Finally, the recovery process of damaged buildings is summarized along with the processes related to response and recovery taken by federal and state governments.