Abstract
This paper discusses different measures for quantifying regional hurricane loss. The main measures used in the past are normalized percentage loss and dollar value loss. In this research, we show that these measures are useful but may not properly reflect the size of the population influenced by hurricanes. A new loss measure is proposed that reflects the hurricane impact on people occupying the structure. For demonstrating the differences among these metrics, regional loss analysis was conducted for Florida. The regional analysis was composed of three modules: the hazard module stochastically modeled the wind occurrence in the region; the vulnerability module utilized vulnerability functions developed in this research to calculate the loss; and the financial module quantified the hurricane loss. In the financial module, we calculated three loss metrics for certain region. The first metric is the average annual loss (AAL) which represents the expected loss per year in percentage. The second is the average annual dollar loss (AADL) which represents the expected dollar amount loss per year. The third is the average annual population-weighted loss (AAPL) — a new measure proposed in this research. Compared to the AAL, the AAPL reflects the number of people influenced by the hurricane. The advantages of the AAPL are illustrated using three different analysis examples: 1) conventional regional loss analysis, 2) mitigation potential analysis, and 3) forecasted future loss analysis due to the change in population.
Highlights
Florida has a large number of residential homes at risk of hurricanes (Hayes and Guyton, 2016)
The mitigation benefit based on the annual population-weighted loss (AAPL) shows a similar outcome as the annual dollar loss (AADL) because dollar amount and population are related in many counties
The first metric was the annual loss (AAL), which represents the expected loss ratio per year. This metric mainly depends on two characteristics: the wind probability in the region and the vulnerability of the investigated house structure
Summary
Florida has a large number of residential homes at risk of hurricanes (Hayes and Guyton, 2016). Where K is the number of locations in the considered region (in this research region = a county); Vij is the maximum wind speed observed at the jth location during the ith event; and Lj(Vij) is the percentage loss obtained from the particular vulnerability function. The following dimensions have been utilized: overhang = 0.61 m (2 ft), length = 18.29 m (60 ft), width = 11.58 m (38 ft), walls height = 3.05 m (10 ft), roof height = 4.14 m (13.6 ft), roof angle = 23°, and truss spacing = 0.61 m (2 ft) This geometry was chosen based on Pinelli et al (2003), where a significant number of houses were investigated and this structure was identified as the most representative one. The AAL reflects the percentage average loss of structures in the region This metric depends mainly on two characteristics; the wind probability in the region and the vulnerability of the investigated house structure. Based on actual building stock data (U.S Census Bureau, 2015b), the number of houses, the price of houses (without the price of the lot), and the number of occupants were calculated for each of the investigated regions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
