ClassificationofstructuralmodelsforwinddamagepredictionsinFlorida.docVIP

Classification of Structural Models for Wind Damage Predictions in Florida Jean-Paul Pinellia,, Liang Zhang a, Chelakara Subramanian a, Anne Copeb, Kurt Gurleyb, Sneh Gulatic, and S. Hamidc aFlorida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA bUniversity of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA cFlorida International University, Miami, FL, USA ABSTRACT: The need to predict hurricane-induced losses for $1.5 trillion worth of existing structures exposed to potential hurricane devastation in the state of Florida has prompted the Florida Department of Insurance (FDOI) to charge a group of researchers with the task of developing a public hurricane loss projection model. The development of the model and its ability to predict the consequences of a hurricane on a given area of Florida depends on a reasonable estimate of the different types of structures in the building stock, and on an accurate representation of the main structural types. This paper presents the results of a statistical survey of the building population of 9 Florida counties. Based on the results of the statistical analyses, typical structural models for residential buildings were adopted for 4 Florida regions, and their probability of occurrence evaluated. The paper describes the building models and how they are incorporated into the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Projection Model. KEYWORDS: Hurricane, Insurance loss, building structural classification InTRODUCTION Over half of the hurricane-related damage in the U. S. occurs in the state of Florida, which has $1.5 trillion in existing building stock currently exposed to potential hurricane devastation. With approximately 85 % of the rapidly increasing population situated on or near the 1200 miles of coastline, Florida losses will continue to mount in proportion to coastal population density. It is therefore critical for the state of Florida, and the insurance industry operating in that state, to be able to estimate expected losses due to hurricanes and their m