Wind field modeling and hurricane hazard analysis

Hurricanes are one of the greatest natural hazards facing the United States. In recent years, windstorm catastrophes have caused enormous economic losses and placed tremendous burdens on the insurance industry. Despite significant improvements in predicting, tracking and warning the public about hurricanes, there has been relatively little progress in our ability to estimate expected hurricane losses. This research was conducted to evaluate the hurricane risks in the southeastern United States and provide better guidance to insurers, emergency managers and the public. Specifically, a GIS-based hurricane hazard assessment was conducted to provide information about expected wind conditions and associated damage to residential structures.