ABSTRACT
Windstorms pose a variety of problems in buildings-particularly in tall buildings-causing concerns for building owners, insurers, and engineers alike. Hurricane winds are the largest single cause of economic and insured losses due to natural disasters, well ahead of earthquakes and floods. For example, in the United States between 1986 and 1993, hurricanes and tornadoes caused about $41 billion in insured catastrophic losses, compared with $6.18 billion for all other natural hazards combined, hurricanes being the largest contributor to the losses. In Europe in 1900 alone, four winter storms caused $10 billion in insured losses, and an estimated $15 billion in economic losses. According to one 1999 insurance industry estimate, the natural catastrophe resulting in the largest amount of insured losses up to that date was hurricane Andrew in 1992 ($16.5 billion). The runnerup, the 1994 Northridge earthquake, resulted in $12.5 billion in reported losses.
