2011
Friday
September
30

Enns (A) - Natural Catastrophes

Enns

The main goal of this thesis is to find, show and solve problems in which meteorological  happenings have damaged buildings. The first part of the thesis will discuss the connection  between the fluctuation in climate and the increase in insurance payments over the  past two decades. 

In order to obtain a better understanding of how and where buildings were damaged,  300 houses in Upper Austria were inspected and rated concerning their vulnerability due  to changes in weather conditions in terms of more extreme events. Resistance to wind  storms, hail, snow and rain were carefully analyzed. Relating to the lack of prior analyses  of this type, 1.150 claim files of an Upper Austrian insurance company were scouted  during this study. The main focus of this work was to determine where the costs caused  by natural events came from and how high these amounts were in relation to the area of  the building affected. 

Concerning hail, the study discusses the comparison between frequency and intensity  of happenings that occurred in Austria. As a result of this analysis, the costs that occur  through hail damage at houses roughly can be connected to the size of hailstorm that  affected the damage. Hail resistance of different materials still can´t be proven through  this, but a slight tendency about materials and its hailresistance could be found and is  shown in this thesis. 

The conclusion will discuss any questionable areas within the studies. These points have  been separately described followed by solutions for preventive steps and further explanation. 

Editor: Hans Starl 

University: Technical University Graz 

Year: 2011 

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