Structural Performance of Buildings from Recent Tornado and Hurricane Events

摘要

Over the last four years, the United States has experienced a dramatic increase in damages due to hurricane and tornado events. These events have caused a large amount of deaths and injuries of which are much greater than any recorded U.S. earthquake event since 1906. The combined damages of hurricanes for the two year period of 2004 through the end of 2005 hurricane season are more than 5 times greater than the combined damages of the 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge Earthquakes.rnThis paper focuses on first hand accounts of the structural assessment of buildings exposed to tornados and hurricanes throughout the US Gulf Coast States as well as the US Midwest Regions. This study is intended to bring awareness to the reader of typical damages incurred during these events and how such damages can be minimized or prevented in these regions if proper engineering, code enforcement and construction practices were implemented. Several case studies will be illustrated showing the performance of several different building types and how basic design and construction provisions can greatly minimize wind damages.