Customising flood damage functions to estimate the carbon footprint of flood-related home repairs

Abstract

Flood damage functions are important tools used to estimate potential damage to the built environment from various types of flood-related hazard events (e.g., hurricanes, riverine flooding). Oftentimes these damage estimates are used to determine the feasibility of flood protection or mitigation projects or to plan for future disasters. While existing standardised functions are used to estimate potential economic loss for residential buildings, functions can be customised to assess the environmental impacts of flood damages for specific building designs. This study presents a methodology for customising functions to estimate the carbon footprint of flood-related building repairs. Unlike regular home repairs, which are based on material life expectancy, flood repairs are dependent on the severity of the flood hazard (i.e., flood depth) and probability of hazard occurrence within the lifespan of a building. To demonstrate the methodology, customised functions are developed for a case study home design in Saint Petersburg, Florida.