SGER: Collection of Perishable Data on Woodframe Residential Structures in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina

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AbstractOne of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history is hurricane Katrina which madelandfall on August 29, 2005 at 7:10 a.m. in Plaquemines Parish, LA. Tragically, Katrinacaused widespread damage and loss of life in several states but has also provided anopportunity to collect data which may be useful for design engineers and building codeofficials in order to design safe and strong buildings in the future. The objective of theproposed study is to gather and process perishable data on residential woodframestructures in non-flooded regions of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi that canbe used by the research and design code development community to improve theperformance of woodframe structures to strong wind (lateral) loading.This Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) proposal is requesting funding tosupport the acquisition of perishable data on damage to and performance of woodframestructures immediately following hurricane Katrina by a multi-institutional post-disasterteam made up of members from academia and industry. Such data is perishable in thatonce repairs begin and clearing of woodframe debris is underway it is no longer availableto the engineering community in order that we may learn how to improve theperformance of woodframe structures during very high winds. The vast majority of theresidential building stock in the U.S. is light-frame, or woodframe, construction includingthe affected areas in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi.The funds requested for this SGER grant will be used for (1) travel to and around theaffected area in mid to late September for the post-disaster team of structural wood andwind experts, and specifically to (2) record damage to residential woodframe structuresfor 4 days systematically working from the edge of the hurricane path and inland towardthe coast. A small amount of support costs is also requested for materials such as film,gasoline, etc. No personnel time is requested, and only minimal travel-relatedexpenses for the university team members are being requested. All industrypersonnel participating with the team have agreed to pay their own expenses. Theseinclude the "APA-The Engineered Wood Association" team organized by the APA VicePresident Tom Williamson and Steven Pryor, the lateral force resisting systems managerat Simpson Strong Tie. Thus the proposed effort is a collaboration of academics, codedevelopers, professional engineers, and industry.The intellectual merit of the proposed SGER project will be mainly the use of real-timeGIS applications, correlation of severe and moderate wind damage with NOAA windspeed data, the later of which will help with development of performance-based windengineering concepts.The broader impacts of the proposed research includes the dissemination of data thatcan be used to improve the performance of woodframe structures through design codedevelopment, thus decreasing risk to families living in woodframe houses, as well as reducing damage.