10A.3
Study of the relation between economical damage and specific hurricane characteristics
Athanasia Koussoula-Bonneton, Université des Antilles et de la Guyane, Pointe ŕ Pitre, Guadeloupe; and F. Pagney, C. Asselin de Beauville, and C. A. Pontikis
Since hurricane Hugo 1989, numerous tropical perturbations passed over the island of Guadeloupe. Some of them caused important disasters (floods, surges etc) while others passing at similar distances did not significantly affected the island. In this work, we attempt to establish a relation between the damages caused during the hurricane passage and the distance separating the corresponding hurricane eye from the island of Guadeloupe. In order to establish this relation, the damages caused by all hurricanes that crossed the Caribbean archipelago, passing close to the island of Guadeloupe, since 1998 have been examined. The analysis has been drown in terms of economical losses as well as environmental damages. The results of the analysis suggest that a relation between damage and eye distance exists. However, this relation strongly depends upon the environmental conditions and corresponding structural fragility.
Session 10A, Hurricane Impacts in the Americas (Parallel with Sessions 10B, 10C, and 10D)
Wednesday, 1 May 2002, 2:00 PM-3:30 PM
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