Probabilistic Modeling of Hurricane Wind-Induced Damage in Infrastructure Systems

Abstract

This paper presents a modeling approach for probabilistic estimation of hurricane wind-induced damage to infrastructural assets. In our approach, we employ a Nonhomogeneous Poisson Process (NHPP) model for estimating spatially-varying probability distributions of damage as a function of hurricane wind eld velocities. Speci cally, we consider a physically-based, quadratic NHPP model for failures of overhead assets in electricity distribution systems. The wind eld velocities are provided by Forecasts of Hurricanes using Large-Ensemble Outputs (FHLO), a framework for generating probabilistic hurricane forecasts. We use FHLO in conjunction with the NHPP model, such that the hurricane forecast uncertainties represented by FHLO are accounted for in estimating the probability distributions of damage. Furthermore, we evaluate the spatial variability and extent of hurricane damage under key wind eld parameters (intensity, size, and asymmetries). By applying our approach to prediction of power outages (loss-of-service) in northwestern Florida due to Hurricane Michael (2018), we demonstrate a statistically signi cant relationship between outage rate and failure rate. Finally, we formulate parametric models that relate total damage and nancial losses to the hurricane parameters of intensity and size. Overall, this paper's ndings suggest that our approach is well-suited to jointly account for spatial variability and forecast uncertainty in the damage estimates, and is readily applicable to prediction of system loss-of-service due to the damage.