It was a pleasure to work on this research and paper with Gustavo Araujo, Barb Simpson, Ludovica Pieroni, Tu Ho, Gustavo (Fernando) Orozco, Byrne Miyamoto, and Arijit Sinha.

Special thanks to the graduate students Tanner Field, Steven Kontra, Patricio Uarac, and Kristian Walker from Oregon State University for their help with instrumentation and testing.

The support provided by the TallWood Design Institute, particularly Phil Mann, the laboratory technical manager, and Mark Gerig, the laboratory technician, was also essential throughout the experimental program.

Acknowledgment is extended to Brandt Saxey and Zac Vilmar from CoreBrace for their help in designing the BRBs and testing the specimen.

Similarly, gratitude is also extended to Reid Zimmerman from KPFF, Eric McDonnell from Holmes, and Steve Pryor from Simpson Strong-Tie for their valuable feedback on the design of the lateral and gravity systems.

I would particularly like to acknowledge Steve Pryor’s suggestion to test the isolated gravity frame.

This project was executed under the USDA Agricultural Research Service Award No. 58-0204-9-165.

Part of the work was also supported by the National Science Foundation under Awards 2120683, 2120692, and 2120684.

We are grateful for the generous support and donations provided by our industry partners, including KPFF, Holmes, Fortis Construction, Carpenters Union, CoreBrace, Boise Cascade, Simpson Strong-Tie, and Freres Engineered Wood.

 

 

 

 

Our latest research presents a Methodology for Virtual Damage Assessment (VDA) and First-Floor Elevation Estimation, with a case study on Fort Myers Beach, Florida, following the devastation of Hurricane Ian (2022). 🌪🏚

📄 Title: Methodology for Virtual Damage Assessment and First-Floor Elevation Estimation: Application to Fort Myers Beach, Florida, and Hurricane Ian (2022)

👥 Authors: Sebastião Appleton Figueira, Mehrshad Amini, Daniel Cox, and André R. Barbosa

📌 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/NHREFO.NHENG-2310

🔍 What’s in the study?

✔️ We developed a Virtual Damage Assessment (VDA) methodology using pre- and post-storm street-level and aerial imagery to assess structural damage on a scale from DS0 (no damage) to DS6 (complete damage).

✔️ We analyzed 3,408 structures impacted by Hurricane Ian, validating the VDA method through a cross-comparison between engineering students and expert assessments. The results showed that trained students performed as reliably as experts (+/− one damage state classification).

✔️ We introduced a first-floor elevation (FFE) estimation method using imagery, which significantly outperformed the National Structures Inventory estimates (MAE of 1.0 ft vs. 4.27 ft).

✔️ Key findings highlight that distance from the shoreline, building elevation, and year built are strong predictors of structural damage in hurricane-prone coastal areas.

🌍 Why does this matter?

This research provides a cost-effective, scalable approach to post-disaster damage assessment, enabling rapid insights for disaster response, structural resilience analysis, and improved predictive modeling for coastal communities. 🌊🏠

💬 Check out the full paper for details! If you’re working on hurricane damage assessment, virtual inspections, or structural resilience, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s connect and discuss!

#HurricaneResilience #StructuralEngineering #DamageAssessment #DisasterResponse #HurricaneIan #FortMyersBeach

College of Engineering – Oregon State University

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)