Hurricane Isabel Damage to Coastal North Carolina Buildings

摘要

Hurricane Isabel made landfall across the Core Banks of North Carolina on 18 September 2003. It was a large hurricane but not unusually severe compared to recent North Carolina hurricanes. Estuarine flooding and moderate structural wind damage to buildings were widespread in its path through North Carolina and up the Chesapeake Bay. As in most hurricanes, the worst damage to buildings typically occurred along the oceanfront near the area of landfall. The most severe building damage was found between Kitty Hawk, NC, 70 miles north of Cape Hatteras, and the village of Hatteras, 10 miles southwest of the Cape. Most of the damage north of Cape Hatteras was caused by wave-induced erosion and wave forces on the foundations of piling-supported buildings. Building damage was concentrated in and adjacent to areas of historically chronic erosion. Many buildings were elevated above the storm-induced waves and storm surge that acted upon foundations. In these cases, damage was typically to the underhouse enclosures, steps, and decks. Relatively few buildings were completely destroyed. South of Cape Hatteras on each side of the new inlet, wave-induced erosion was less of a threat, but wave forces were the primary cause of damage. Buildings performed as expected based on the foundation standards in place at the time of construction. The exceptions were in the villages of Hatteras and Frisco, where the historical use of underhouse parking was abandoned in favor of low-elevation finished floors. The degree of damage to individual buildings depended on the foundation design and elevation of the first floor relative to the peak wave and storm surge elevation.