The assessment of flood damage is an important component of flood risk management which utilises vulnerability models to estimate expected losses for a given hazard scenario. The reliability of damage assessments strongly relates to the effectiveness of vulnerability models to represent the exposed building stock in the study area. While Geoscience Australia has developed a suite of vulnerability models for Australian residential buildings, very few models characterise the vulnerability of commercial buildings. A collaborative project between Geoscience Australia and the City of Sydney has aimed to fill this gap and investigate the vulnerability of Central Business District (CBD) type buildings to inundation. Rather than attempting to develop vulnerability models for whole buildings, as has been done in the past for domestic residential buildings, the project has examined the vulnerability of individual storey levels. The developed vulnerabilities can then be combined with any mix of upper storey types and usage to develop a customised total building vulnerability. Exposure surveys conducted in the Sydney CBD identified eight predominant ground and basement level storey types in high and low rise commercial buildings, the areas most likely to be inundated. Vulnerability models were developed by engaging building services specialists and professional quantity surveyors to define typical repair strategies for building services and building fabric and to cost the required repair following inundation. These models will help to better understand the likely damage and financial losses in case of flooding in Australian CBD areas.
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Proceedings of the 2017 Floodplain Management Australia National Conference (FMA 2017)