Data collection

Modelling a building for the purpose of producing its damage function with floodam.building requires to collect data on its geometry, its building material, and its contents. To do so, 3 different strategies can be implemented:

• real building survey

  It consists in visiting a real building in order to establish its plan, make a list of its contents and locate each item. If a plan of the building is readily available, it can be used directly.

  Moreover, it is not necessary to collect data on the roof and, if the building contains dwellings, on perishable goods. Realistic models of building can be produced using this strategy. However, it is time consuming. Furthermore, for the purpose of producing damage functions that are representative of the buildings of a specific area, it is better to model real buildings whose features are typical. But it can be difficult to find people who both own a typical building and accept having it visited.

  Besides, without the proper expertise, it can sometimes be difficult to identify all the building materials.

• real building plan

  It consists in using the plan of a real building. This strategy is easier to implement than real building surveys. However, realistic assumptions regarding the building materials and contents need to be made in order to obtain a realistic building model.

• hypothetical building

  It consists in making assumptions on the building plan, materials, and contents by using several real building plans and information on the materials and contents of the type of buildings that are to be modelled.

  This information can come from existing databases, technical reports, or interviews with experts. This strategy can be used to model buildings that are representative of an area. However, it can only be implemented if the characteristics of the buildings of the studied area are well known.