ABSTRACT
Hurricanes constitute a part of Floridians’ everyday experience since historically they have represented a constant threat to their lives and properties. In recent years, significant efforts have been made by the State of Florida to reduce hurricane-induced building losses, including the development of a loss model. A team, composed of engineers and scientists from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Florida International University, Florida Institute of Technology and the University of Florida, among others, has produced the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model (FPHLM). This is the only model specifically designed to predict residential insured losses which is accessible for scrutiny by the scientific community and the public. The model predicts the losses of residential homes and has been certified by the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Methodology as an acceptable model for projecting hurricane loss costs (FCHLPM 2007). The structure of the model as well as validation and calibration
results have been described elsewhere (Pinelli et al. 2003, Powell 2005, Pinelli et al. 2004, Chen et al. 2004, Pinelli et al. 2006, Pinelli et al. 2007). The model is now being expanded to include multi-story commercial-residential buildings.
