FLOOD02918

• County: Denver
• Community: Denver
• Stream Name: South Platte River
• Basin: South Platte
• Title: Estimation of Flood Depth-Damage Curves for Residential, Commercial and Industrial Properties in the Denver Region
• Date: 10/1/1977
• Prepared For: CWCB
• Prepared By: Wayne J. Grahm ‎(Master of Science Candidate at CSU)‎
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

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TYPES OF DAMAGE

Approximately five different empirical flood damage categories
have been described. (Breaden, 1973, Grigg & Helweg)

DIRECT DAMAGE
The most commonly reported in newspapers immediately after a flood

event, and the easiest to get a firm handle on, and probably the most

accurate are the direct damages. Direct damages occur to structures and

their contents, roads, bridges, utilities and associated facilities. The

amount of direct damage to walled and roofed structures and contents

within is related to size, value, and generally to the depth of flooding.

Flood insura~ce payment claims are for direct damages, but later, the types

of direct damages that are not covered under the Standard Flood Insurance

Policy will be described. There is a great deal of information available

for estimating damages to residential property, but relatively little for

estimating damages to commercial and industrial properties. (Grigg &

Helweg, 1975) The main thrust in this paper will be an in-depth analysis

of the methods being used, both nationwide and in the Denver area for esti-

mating damages to residential, commercial, and industrial properties.

Depth-damage curves will be presented for various types of residential,

commercial, and industrial properties. An attempt will be made to relate

damage to building area, building value, and building type for various

depths of flood waters. Curves will also be presented for various types

of structure contents. Damages to roads, bridges, utilities, etc. will

not be covered,

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