Yazdani, N.; Beneberu, E.; Baniya, A., and Efaz, I.H., 2020. Performance of light-frame wooden structures (LFWSs) subjected to combined wind and flood hazards. Journal of Coastal Research, 36(4), 834–843. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Although simultaneous flood and wind events may cause catastrophic damage in areas outside the Special Flood Hazard Areas, no current building codes require light-frame wooden structures (LFWSs) to be elevated or designed for the combined loads. The current study numerically investigated the performance of typical elevated and a slab-on-grade (SOG) LFWS buildings located in 100- and 500-year floodplains, respectively, against global failure because of combined flood and wind forces. Factors such as the direction of lateral loads, effect of buoyancy, and flood level difference between the building interior and exterior were considered. Additionally, the adequacy of foundation anchor bolt spacing provisions from the 2018 International Building Code and Bureau of Recovery and Mitigation were investigated. From the overall performance of the SOG-type building, it was found that a nonengineered building complying only with the minimum requirements set by building codes is likely to fail locally at the wall-foundation connection before any global failure. In cases of elevated buildings, two-story buildings are safer against overturning, sliding, and uplifting failures compared with one-story structures.