Quantitative risk analysis of damage to structures during windstorms: some multi-scale and system-reliability effects

Quantitative risk analysis enables rational accounting for the effect of spatial scale on estimates of damage to individual structures or to groups of closely spaced structures during severe windstorms. The case of window breakage on the façade of an iconic tall building, which motivated a series of such risk-based studies, is presented. The main part of the paper provides an overview of an integrated vulnerability model to estimate structural damage in clusters of residential buildings due to tropical-cyclone winds. This model accounts for the occurrence of a possible 'chain reaction' of events involving wind pressure damage and wind-borne debris damage, amplifying the aggregate losses. Several numerical examples are provided.