Methodology for Risk Assessment for Exposure to Hurricane Conditions

An analysis of potential flooding by storm surge and wave run-up and overtopping can be used to evaluate protection afforded by the existing storm protection system. The analysis procedure can also be used to evaluate various protection alternatives for providing typhoon flood protection. To determine risk, the storm surges for both historical and hypothetical are compiled with tide conditions to represent high, slack and low water for neap, spring and mid range tides to use with the statistical procedure known as the Empirical Simulations Technique (EST). The EST uses the historic and hypothetical events to generate a large population of life-cycle databases that are used to compute mean value maximum storm surge elevation frequency relationships. The frequency-of-occurrence relationship is determined for all relevant locations along the shoreline at appropriate locations to identify the effect using the Empirical Storm Simulation (EST). To assist with understanding the process, an example is presented for a study of storm surge analysis for Freeport, Texas. This location is in the Gulf of Mexico and is subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms that approach from the Atlantic Ocean.