Damage to buildings

The damage to buildings caused by floods has been studied more often. Several studies researched the relation between damage and water depth, the so called?damage factor?. Whereas the amount of damage will not only be caused by the water depth but also by, for instance, the water velocity. Therefore in other studies a start has been made to include flood factors like the water velocity in calculation models. Some of these models are based on the comparison of the loads on the structures with the strength of the structures. In this study this comparison has been utilized further for masonry and concrete buildings in the Netherlands. Besides the comparison of load and strength, which may cause the failure of a wall, also the scour of a foundation has been looked at. These two failure mechanisms, failure of walls and scour of the foundation, are thought to be the most relevant mechanisms for the Netherlands. Therefore a model has been made which calculates the possibility of partial collapse by these two failure mechanisms. The model has been applied to the case ?Midden Holland?. This case represents a dyke breach at Krimpen. From the model it appears that due to this dyke breach damage to buildings will occur.