Assessing the Vulnerability of Coastal Buildings to Storm-Surge Flooding: Case Study - Southern Miami Beach, Florida

Coastal regions are vulnerable to natural hazards such as storm surge flooding. Increased population growth and wealth in coastal areas have led to swelling costs associated with flood-related damages, as evidence in Miami-Dade County, Florida across the decades. While, various studies have assessed the flood hazard levels in the County, incorporating the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps, no examination has been conducted to determine the vulnerability of individual buildings to storm surge flooding. Inferring from the concept of Papathoma Tsunami Vulnerability Assessment (or PTVA), which employed a multi-criteria evaluation method to assess the vulnerability of buildings to a tsunami in Australia, this study developed the Storm Surge Building Vulnerability (SSBV) model to assess the vulnerability of coastal buildings to storm surge flooding, and utilized Miami-Dade County sites, as case study areas. The study selected SSBV parameters based on FEMA’s report of the observed damages to buildings caused by hurricanes and available literature. Input data included a Category 5 hurricane SLOSH model, GIS floodplains data, and building characteristics. The model was applied to a transversal section of buildings on Miami Beach, which included two historic districts. Validation was performed through a Synoptic Survey, Google Earth images, and existing GIS data. Out of the total of 297 buildings considered in the model, 101 evidenced moderate vulnerability, 73 high vulnerability, and six a very high vulnerability. Of the 79 buildings that exhibited a high and very high vulnerability, 55 (approximately 70%) of them are slab-on-grade buildings. Most of the very low and low vulnerability buildings are high-rise buildings and/or were located behind the tall dune. It can be concluded from this study that the vulnerability of buildings to storm surge flooding is dependent on the nature of the building’s constructive features, its relation to the ground plane, and to contextual features in its immediate vicinity, as opposed to only the flood hazard present within zones.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AM.108.10

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ISBN
978-1-944214-26-5