HAZUS-MH Hurricane Model
The HAZUS-MH Hurricane Model allows users to estimate the economic and social losses from hurricane winds. The information provided by the model can be used by state and local officials in evaluating, planning for, and mitigating the effects of hurricane winds.
The Hurricane Model is the first component of a planned HAZUS-MH Wind Model. When fully implemented, the Wind Model will address the wind hazard and effects associated with hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms, extratropical storms, and hail.
A Hurricane Wind Preview Model has been developed for communities in Atlantic and Gulf coast regions of the United States and Hawaii. This initial version allows the user to assess hurricane winds and compute basic estimates of potential damage to residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. It also allows the user to estimate direct economic losses. Development of the full hurricane model iwill enable the model to estimate indirect economic losses and impacts to lifelines.
The hazard component of the HAZUS-MH Hurricane Wind Model makes use of an existing state-of-the-art windfield model, which has been calibrated and validated using full-scale hurricane data. The model incorporates sea surface temperature in the boundary layer analysis, and calculates wind speed as a function of central pressure, translation speed, and surface roughness.
The HAZUS-MH Hurricane Wind Model is an improvement over existing loss estimation models because it uses a wind hazard-load-damage-loss framework. The model addresses wind pressure, windborne debris, duration/fatigue, and rain. It includes the following features:
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A building classification system that depends on the characteristics of the building envelope and building frame.
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The capability to compute damage based on building classes and the effects of rain and progressive failure.
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The capability to compute damage to contents and building interior.
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The capability to estimate tree blowdown and structure debris quantities.
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Loss estimates that include direct and indirect economic loss, shelter requirements, and casualties.
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Modules that facilitate future assessment of mitigation, benefit-cost, and building code issues.
New Features in HAZUS-MH MR3 Hurricane Model
- Commercial data have been updated to Dun & Bradstreet 2006
- Building valuations have been updated to R.S. Means 2006
- Building counts based on census housing unit counts will be available for RES1 (single-family dwellings) and RES2 (manufactured housing) instead of calculated building counts
- Storms for 2004 and 2005 have been added to the historic storms database
- The existing historic storms have been updated based on a revised hurricane windfield model
- Use of NOAA hurricane advisory data to model storms has ben restored with an adjustment feature for calculating building damage and loss
- New vulnerability functions will permit calculation of additional losses to manufactured housing due to tree blowdown
HAZUS-MH Hurricane Model Applications
The Hurricane Model has been used by FEMA, states and local communities for risk assessments, mitigation planning, and support for disaster operations, including:
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Hurricane evacuation planning in Florida, North Carolina and Hawaii (2006)
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Losses Avoided Analysis, Southwest Florida HAZUS Pilot Project (2006)
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State Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Plan (Florida, 2007)
Last Modified: Thursday, 22-May-2008 15:20:26 EDT
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