Fragility Assessment of Wind-Induced Residential Building Damage Caused by Hurricane Harvey, 2017

摘要

Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coastline on August 25, 2017, as a Category 4 hurricane. Wind gusts over 233 km/h and storm surge as high as 3 m caused widespread damage to buildings and critical infrastructure in coastal communities including Rockport, Fulton, Port Aransas, and Aransas Pass. Over a 12-day survey period, a study team led by the authors assessed the performance of more than 1,000 individual, geo-located residential buildings. This study presents an initial evaluation of empirical wind fragility functions for single-family residential structures impacted by Hurricane Harvey. The fragility functions are constructed using 3-second gust wind speeds adjusted by local ground surface roughness as the demand parameter. The analysis finds that the local terrain is a significant factor in determining the level of damage for structures. High variability is observed in the wind speed to damage relationship.