The Economic Benefits of Hurricane and Storm Damage Reductiohn

by Mona J. King, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Coastal Zone '91

Abstract:

The Mobile District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently evaluating the feasibility of a hurricane and storm damage reduction project at Panama City Beach, Florida. Under Corps criteria, a project is considered economically feasible if the economic benefits are equal to or greater than the economic costs. The major economic benefit of a project at Panama City Beach will be from the reduction in the economic costs of hurricane and storm damages. Benefits may also be realized from increased recreation, land enhancement, lost land reduction, and reduced maintenance of infrastructure. The benefits of a project for hurricane and storm damage protection equal the amount of hurricane damages without the proposed project minus the amount of hurricane damages with the project. The methodology used for computing the benefits of hurricane and storm damage reduction, the composite damage reduction method, is described in this paper. This methodology considers damages to structures from inundation, waves, storm-induced recession and long-term erosion. The economic model will also take into account other factors such as rebuilding constraints and structural impediments to erosion.

Subject Headings: Economic factors | Hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones | Storms | Project management | Erosion | Developing countries | Damage (structural) | Panama | Central America | Florida | United States

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