US tropical cyclone flood risk: Storm surge versus freshwater.

Despite persistent record-breaking flood losses from tropical cyclones (TCs), the United States continues to be inadequately prepared for TC flood events, with the deficiency in residential flood insurance being a prime representation of this. One way to address this is through a better quantification of TC flood risk including variations associated with freshwater versus storm surge flood hazard and damage. We analyze actual residential flood claim data from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for the full set of all 28 significant US landfalling TC-related flood events from 2001 to 2014 which we split by storm surge and freshwater.

Risk Factors for 100-Year Flood Events in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States.

Anecdotal information indicates that streams in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States experience more extreme flood events than might be expected. This leads to the question of whether this is an unfounded perception or if these extreme events are actually occurring more than should be expected. If the latter is true, is this due solely to randomness, or alternately to characteristics that make certain watersheds more prone to repeated events that may be defined as 100-year or greater floods? These questions are investigated through analysis of flood events based on standard flood frequency analysis.

Simulating Behavioral Influences on Community Flood Risk under Future Climate Scenarios.

Flood risk is a function of both climate and human behavior, including individual and societal actions. For this reason, there is a need to incorporate both human and climatic components in models of flood risk. This study simulates behavioral influences on the evolution of community flood risk under different future climate scenarios using an agent-based model (ABM).

An Agent-Based Model of Evolving Community Flood Risk.

Although individual behavior plays a major role in community flood risk, traditional flood risk models generally do not capture information on how community policies and individual decisions impact the evolution of flood risk over time. The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of the temporal aspects of flood risk through a combined analysis of the behavioral, engineering, and physical hazard aspects of flood risk. Additionally, the study aims to develop a new modeling approach for integrating behavior, policy, flood hazards, and engineering interventions.

Hurricane Isaac: A Longitudinal Analysis of Storm Characteristics and Power Outage Risk.

In August 2012, Hurricane Isaac, a Category 1 hurricane at landfall, caused extensive power outages in Louisiana. The storm brought high winds, storm surge, and flooding to Louisiana, and power outages were widespread and prolonged. Hourly power outage data for the state of Louisiana were collected during the storm and analyzed.