Structural damage to Dutch terraced houses due to flood actions

’De Watersnood van 1953’, the largest Dutch flood in recent history, caused the death of 1795 people in the Netherlands directly from the flood conditions, while in the UK, 315 were recorded. Most of them were among those whose residence collapsed due to high water depth, quick rise rate of the water or strong flow velocity. Based on historical...

Addicks and Barker Dams: An optimization to minimize damage due to flooding

The Addicks and Barker Reservoirs, built in the forties, are located in Houston and collect precipitation and run-off from upstream areas to reduce flood risks along Buffalo Bayou to protect downtown Houston. During Hurricane Harvey (August 25 - August 30, 2017), the precipitation reached a new record of 910 mm [36.2 inches] in a 4 day period in...

Structural Damage to Masonry Housing due to Earthquake-Flood Multi-Hazards

The possibility of multi-hazards, the occurrence of two or more (natural) hazards at once or shortly after another in the same location, can lead to an increased risk of structural damage and life loss. In the Netherlands, seismically-unprepared houses are especially vulnerable to newly expected earthquakes in the region of Groningen. These...

Impact Modelling of Hurricane Sandy on the Rockaways: Relating high-resolution storm characteristics to observed impact with use of Bayesian Belief Networks

Hurricane Sandy (2012), which made landfall in New Jersey on October 29th, made devastating impact on the East Coast of the USA and struck major parts of New York City, including the economic centre of Manhattan. The total damage (in the USA and Caribbean) is in excess of 100 billion US$ with estimates ranging between 78 and 97 billion US$ for...

Design of a flood proof storage tank

Some storage tank terminals located in hurricane prone regions were heavily struck by hurricanes. An example is the storage tank terminal of Stolthaven Terminals (Stolt-Nielsen Limited) which is located in New-Orleans and was severely struck by Hurricane Katrina and Isaac. Damage to the terminal was caused by high wind pressures, but mainly due...