Roof Damage in New Homes Caused by Hurricane Charley

Hurricane Charley was the first Category 4 hurricane to strike Florida after 1992. This paper presents results of a study to investigate the performance of 425 of 747 roofs of new homes in Punta Gorda Isles, a subdivision of Punta Gorda that was directly in the path of Hurricane Charley shortly after it made landfall. The homes examined were larger, concrete/clay tiled roof homes having irregular floor plans and complex roof configurations not explicitly addressed by prevailing wind load codes. Roof damage was evaluated using images from aerial photographs taken at an elevation of approximately 762?m?(2,500?ft.) Specialized software was used to quantify damage. Damage was classified based on tile loss area. The study showed that the vast majority of the roofs were either undamaged or sustained minor damage. Fewer than 14% were classified as damaged. The most common observed tile loss was along ridges, corners, or in the hip zone where negative uplift pressures are recognized to be the highest. Given the modest observed damage, prevailing methods for estimating wind loads for irregular buildings specified in codes may be adequate. Problems encountered may be best resolved through new details for attaching tiles on ridges, corners, and hip zone.