The George Mason Review
The Effects of First Floor Elevation Distribution and Depth-Damage Curves on the HAZUS-MH Flood Model Damage Estimation for Coastal Floods Daniel Scolese
Major: Civil Engineering
About the Work:
An independent study was performed to learn and apply the HAZUS-MH Coastal Flood Model to estimate damage along the Northeastern coast of the United States after the recent Hurricane Sandy. As part of undergraduate research with Drs. Tanyu and Ferreira, students learned to operate and apply HAZUS-MH. The first process we had to do in our research was to understand the program. Here we applied the use of the technical manuals of the program to understand how it worked. We would explore more of the components of the program by contacting individuals that participated in the development of the program and the developer of the program. Once we had a thorough understanding of the program we began to branch out and conduct a literature review and verification of the program. We did both of these at the same time. The literature review we focused on current practices of the program, other models, and improved methods. As for the verification we created an Excel program that would essentially mimic the program showing that we understood how it worked. Afterwards, we conducted a sensitivity analysis on the program to understand the most sensitive parameters of the program. The results are then discussed in the paper and we were able to make a conclusion from what we have found. During the entire process we received mentorship and guidance from our professors, Dr. Tanyu and Ferreira. The outcome of this research provided us the understanding and materials for more research of the HAZUS-MH Coastal Flood Model.
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