Hurricane Elena, Gulf Coast August 29 - September 2, 1985 (1991) / Chapter Skim
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5 Conclusions and Recommendations
5 Conclusions and Recommendations
Pages 91-101
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From page 91... ...
Comparison with Hurricane Frederic During the survey, several residents of Dauphin Island reported that many buildings severely damaged by Hurricane Elena had survived Hurricane Frederic with little or no damage. This was confirmed by reference to aerial photographs taken after Hurricane Frederic (U.S.
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From page 92... ...
In contrast, the eye of Hurricane Elena passed offshore, but approximately parallel to the island (Figure 1-2~. The exposed western end of the island experienced high winds approaching over the sea for several hours.
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From page 93... ...
The hurricane threat was well recognized by the local communities, which believed they had taken steps to prepare for such events through the use of NWS forecasts, evacuation planning, and appropriate building codes. Forecasting and evacuation efforts appear to have been fairly successful, but there was a considerable amount of wind damage to buildings and other structures.
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From page 94... ...
WIND CONDITIONS 2. Better Wind-Speed Data Conclusion: On the basis of aircraft-measured wind speeds- and damage observations, the NWS estimated that the maximum surface wind speed in Hurricane Elena, averaged over 1 minute, was 127 mph.
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From page 95... ...
Recommendation 2: The procedures used to estimate wind speeds using damage observations should be carefully reviewed by the NWS and wind engineers. Until this is done it is recommended that the wind speeds in both the Saffir-Simpson scale and the Fujita Scale be taken as 2- to 3second gusts.
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From page 96... ...
Valuable information concerning weather conditions, property damage, and needs for assistance were passed to the NWS and emergency management officials in a timely manner by these amateur radio operators. Recommendation: The NWS should continue to avail itself of the skills offered by amateur radio operators in emergencies to the full extent allowed by law.
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From page 97... ...
These scenarios proved valuable for planning purposes by local emergency management officials. However, the model is sensitive to hurricane path, and it proved difficult to quickly provide accurate information to local emergency managers.
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From page 98... ...
As demonstrated in parts of the Gulf Coast evacuated in Elena, hypothetical surveys alone are invalid for projecting how people will actually behave during hurricane threats. Recommendation: Behavioral assumptions regarding evacuation should be based primarily upon empirical studies of actual response patterns in past hurricane threats.
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From page 99... ...
The failure of the Standard Building Code to incorporate adequate wind-load specifications and consistent construction requirements can be Laced to the democratic manner in which code changes are made. Although this is a highly controversial issue, it would appear that the lack of a properly prepared national building code of the type used in most other developed countries has hindered the incorporation of upto-date wind-loading provisions and consistent structural requirements.
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From page 100... ...
Recommendation: If local jurisdictions are unable or unwilling to provide building officials with the resources to make checks on the wind resistance of professionally designed structures, structural review panels or individual consultants should be employed to review the designs. This is a practice used extensively outside the United States.
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From page 101... ...
Some states have attempted to raise design wind speeds that would appear to have a mean recurrence interval of more than 2,000 years. Yet, even if the design wind speed had been raised to such a level on the Mississippi and Alabama coasts following Hurricane Camille, it is unlikely that the extent and nature of the damage caused by Elena would have been significantly different from that actually encountered, since the design wind speed had very little bearing on the structural form of many of the damaged buildings.
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