Flood Damage to Historic Buildings and Structures

Abstract

This paper presents typical examples of damage to immovable cultural heritage due to flooding. Flooding can damage architectural heritage, historic infrastructure consisting of individual structures, buildings, and objects, as well as objects of art standing alone or firmly attached as an integral part of buildings. All these objects are subjected to various forces and actions during flood situations. These forces can be categorized according to the types of damage that they can cause: horizontal static pressure of raised water; upward hydrostatic pressure; dynamic low velocity streams; dynamic high-velocity streams; dynamic impact of waves; dynamic impact of floating objects; compacting of soils or infill; changes in subsoil conditions; saturation of materials with water; contamination of materials with chemical and biological agents; formation of barriers; ice floes; and postflood effects. These typical actions may occur in combinations and work in synergy. Typical illustrative examples of damage caused by individual actions are presented in the paper, which goes on to present some general lessons applicable for the most vulnerable categories of immovable heritage objects.