PROBABILISTIC-BASED HURRICANE RISK ASSESSMENT AND ...

vulnerability of structures to damage as the result of hurricane hazards. Unfortunately,not a lot of information on these proprietary models is available in the public domain.Despite the limitations of regressive curve-fitting models, the Huang model (2001) isimplemented into the framework developed herein. The model was chosen for a numberof reasons, including the fact that it was developed for single-family residentialconstruction in the Southeastern U.S. which is the focus of the framework. Since theframework developed herein is not currently applied to other types of construction, thismodel is sufficient in estimating damage risks; however, the framework can be modifiedfor other types of construction by modifying the hurricane vulnerability model. Huang'smodel is also relatively simple in its application. For the purposes of the analysisperformed within this research, Huang's model provides an adequate estimate ofhurricane damage as a function of wind speed. As more post-disaster data becomesavailable, models such as Huang et al. (2001), can be modified to more accurately predicthurricane damage costs.1.1.3.3 Hurricane-Induced Storm Surge Height ModelsHurricane-induced storm surges are difficult to predict due to the numerous variables thatintertwine to create the storm surge. However, throughout the years studies havedeveloped methods in an effort to predict future storm surge heights. The first numericalalgorithms of storm surge began emerging in the 1960's (e.g. Harper 1969), and evolvedwith subsequent research (Wurtele et al. 1971, Flather and Heaps 1975, Mastenbroek etal. 1993). These early models used structured grids that are not capable of accuratelyportraying complex coastlines. This limitation prompted the development of unstructuredgrids throughout recent years that are able to more accurately represent complexcoastlines.SPLASH was developed in 1972 to estimate storm surge along the east coast of the U.S.(Jelesnianski 1972, Jelesnianski 1974). It has since been replaced with the Sea, Lake, andOverland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH), which is a computerized model developed bythe National Weather Service (NWS). SLOSH estimates surge height based on historical,hypothetical, or predicted hurricanes by utilizing certain parameters (i.e. storm pressure,16