As the Atlantic hurricane season approaches, civil engineers are intensifying efforts to help communities better withstand increasingly destructive storms.
Researchers are turning to advanced modeling, field measurements, laboratory testing, and artificial intelligence to improve how buildings and infrastructure are designed for future hurricane threats rather than relying solely on historical storm patterns.
In a recent news brief by the American Society of Civil Engineers, Pedro Fernández-Cabán, a civil engineering assistant professor at Florida State University, explained that hurricane damage varies greatly depending on local conditions including terrain, storm structure, flooding, and wind intensity. Roof failures remain one of the leading causes of structural losses during hurricanes, making accurate wind-speed measurements critical for safer building design.
According to Fernández-Cabán, collecting reliable wind data during hurricanes remains difficult because power outages and damaged equipment often interrupt monitoring systems. To address this, researchers deploy portable weather stations in storm-prone areas and recreate hurricane conditions inside wind tunnels to better understand how wind interacts with buildings and neighborhoods.
By combining real-world storm data with laboratory simulations, engineers are now training machine-learning systems to produce more detailed wind-speed maps tailored to specific locations. These tools can help communities strengthen vulnerable structures, improve building standards, and better identify areas facing the greatest exposure to hurricane losses.
The technology could also have significant implications for the insurance industry. More precise predictive modeling may help insurers refine risk assessments, improve catastrophe forecasting, support underwriting decisions, and encourage resilience-based mitigation strategies that could ultimately reduce claims costs.
Fernández-Cabán noted that relatively small design adjustments can significantly reduce hurricane damage. Minor modifications to roof shapes or parapet walls, for example, can lessen dangerous wind pressures without major reconstruction costs.
Researchers are also adopting broader multi-hazard approaches that evaluate how wind, flooding, and storm surge interact during hurricanes. A structure that performs well against wind may still fail if floodwaters or storm surge penetrate the building envelope.
Catalina González-Dueñas, assistant professor of civil engineering at George Mason University, focuses on probabilistic risk modeling to help communities better understand potential hurricane impacts. Rather than predicting a single outcome, these models analyze a range of possible scenarios using historical data, climate projections, and sea-level-rise estimates.
The goal is to guide stronger mitigation strategies, including elevated homes, flood-resistant materials, improved stormwater systems, seawalls, and nature-based infrastructure solutions.
"There's always a residual risk, but at least we can do our best to mitigate the consequences of it," González-Dueñas said in the news release.
Maura Keller is a Minnesota-based freelance writer and editor.
(Featured image credit: Hurricane Ian damage/bilanol via Adobe Stock)
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