Tropical Cyclone Profile Options Pane

Risk

100-Year Loss Level

Represents the loss amount likely to be equaled or exceeded 1 % or the time, or in 1 year out of 100.

For example, if the 100-year loss level is 20-25%, it means that there is a 1 percent chance in any given year that the losses are likely to exceed 20-25% of the total value.

To flag certain conditions, enter low and high loss level percentages.

250-Year Loss Level

Represents the loss amount likely to be equaled or exceeded 0.4 % of the time, or in 1 year out of 250.

For example, if the 250-year loss is 20-25%, it means that there is a 0.4 percent chance in any given year that the losses are likely to exceed 20-25% of the total value.

To flag certain conditions, enter low and high loss level percentages.

Average Annual Loss

Refers to the loss you can expect to occur per year, on average, over a period of many years.

For example, if the 250-year loss is 20-25%, it means that there is a 0.4 percent chance in any given year that the losses are likely to exceed 20-25% of the total value.

To flag certain conditions, enter low and high loss level percentages.

Relative Risk

Relative Risk by County

The ranking of a location's risk score with respect to other locations within the same county, expressed as a percentile.

To flag certain conditions, enter low and high risk score percentages.

Relative Risk by State

The ranking of a location's risk score with respect to other locations within the same state, expressed as a percentile.

To flag certain conditions, enter low and high risk score percentages.

Hurricane Information

Distance to Effective Coast (AIR)

The distance of the location from the 'effective' coastline defined by AIR, a coast that is smoothed for inlets, bays, and other irregularities.

The available ranges of effective coastline values defined by AIR go from "0 - 500 feet" through "2500 feet - 1 miles", and from "1 - 2 miles" through "25 - 50 miles". There is also a greater than 50 miles value.

Touchstone excludes inland waterways below a certain spatial scale because they are too small to exert a significant effect on wind speeds at the hurricane's scale.

To flag certain distance conditions, enter low and high distance ranges; be sure to specify units.

Distance to Actual Coast (ISO)

The distance of the location from the coastline defined by ISO, a coast that closely resembles the actual physical coast.

The actual coast is an easily measured coastline definition that is often useful for underwriting guidelines. This coastline is the same ocean coastline used in LOCATION®, ISO's comprehensive risk assessment tool.

To flag certain distance conditions, enter low and high distance ranges; be sure to specify units.

Nearest Historical Hurricane

The name, date and time of landfall, and Saffir-Simpson intensity of the most severe historical hurricane that has occurred near a given location.

Hazard Analysis determines the most severe events by considering the top 5 events that occurred within 50 miles of the specified location, with the most severe event being the value that the analysis returns.

-

Coastal County

Identifies whether a location is in a county adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricanes usually lose strength after landfall, and, as storms travel further inland, their destructiveness diminishes. Therefore, a location's distance from the coastline becomes an important factor in determining hazard potential.

Check box to display a notification on screen if the condition occurs.

Storm Surge Potential

Indicates whether a location is susceptible to storm surge, which is generated based on a uniform grid at (x) resolution. Based on the model as the data source; Touchstone considers, based on AAL whether that grid contains storm surge losses. If the grid contains storm surge losses, then that grid has the potential to be susceptible to storm surge.

Storm surge is caused by winds pushing water toward the shore. When combined with high tide, storm surge can cause an increase in the mean water level and can, therefore, result in severe flooding and substantial property loss. The densely populated Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico coastlines that lie less than ten feet above mean sea level are particularly vulnerable to storm surge.

Touchstone calculates storm surge potential initially using a nominal exposure in a uniform grid across the U.S. land mass (defined by zip code boundary). Each cell in the grid is one of three resolutions: 0.05x0.05, 0.01x 0.01, and 0.002x0.002 decimal degrees. Touchstone then calculates the cells iteratively. With each analysis run where there is a difference in the 250-yr estimated loss of $5000.00, Touchstone reduces the size of the cells. The cells closest to the coast are set to 0.002 in the initial first run.

Touchstone runs the analysis with and without storm surge; where a difference exists between the two results, the cell has "storm surge potential". The value is recorded as Yes/No.

Check box to display a notification on screen if the condition occurs.

Elevation

The elevation above mean sea level of each location at 30-meter resolution.

In general, wind speeds, and the resulting potential for damage, increase with elevation. At the same time, during a storm surge, lower-lying locations suffer more damage than locations at higher elevations.

To flag certain elevation conditions, enable one or more selections in the selection list.

Terrain

The surface terrain (land use) of each location at 220-meter resolution.

Differences in surface terrain can affect wind speeds. Wind speeds are generally lower in urban settings than in suburban or flat settings because the rough surface profile of urban environments provides higher surface friction and reduces wind speeds. In general, the rougher the terrain, the more quickly wind speeds dissipate, resulting in reduced damage. Surface terrain, or land use, is classified into various terrain types.

To flag certain terrain conditions, enable one or more selections in the selection list.

FWM (Florida Wind Mitigation) parameters are available for Florida only

FWM Windborne Debris Region

Indicates whether the Florida locations fall within a state-defined wind-borne debris region.

Check box to display a notification on screen if the condition occurs.

FWM High Velocity Wind Region

Indicates whether the Florida locations fall within a state-defined high velocity wind zone.

Check box to display a notification on screen if the condition occurs.

FWM Exposure Area

Indicates whether the Florida locations fall within the state-defined exposure Florida-defined exposure areas:

Terrain B refers to urban and suburban areas, wooded areas, or other terrain with numerous closely spaced obstructions the size of single-family dwellings or larger.

Terrain C refers to open terrain with scattered obstructions having heights generally less than 30 feet. This category includes flat open country, grasslands, and shorelines in hurricane-prone regions.

Differences in surface terrain (or land use) can affect wind speeds; in general, the rougher the terrain, the more quickly wind speeds dissipate, resulting in reduced damage areas.

Differences in surface terrain or land use) can affect wind speeds; in general, the rougher the terrain, the more quickly wind speeds dissipate, resulting in reduced damage.

To flag certain exposure area conditions, enable one or more selections in the selection list.

FWM Windspeed Region

Indicates whether the Florida locations fall within the wind speed ranges for the state-defined wind speed regions shown in the following table:

To flag certain wind speed conditions, enable one or more selections in the selection list.

Storm Surge

Storm Surge Zone Category

The available Storm Surge Zone categories: 100 Year, 250 Year, 500 Year, or No Data

To flag one or more Storm Surge Zone categories, select one or more items in the selection list.

Distance to 100 Year Storm Surge

The distance from the location to the 100-year storm surge flood risk area with 30-meter resolution.

To flag certain distance conditions, enter low and high distance ranges; be sure to specify units (feet/miles).

Distance to 250 Year Storm Surge

The distance from the location to the 250-year storm surge flood risk area with 30-meter resolution.

To flag certain distance conditions, enter low and high distance ranges; be sure to specify units (feet/miles).

Distance to 500 Year Storm Surge

The distance from the location to the 500-year storm surge flood risk area.

To flag certain distance conditions, enter low and high distance ranges; be sure to specify units (feet/miles).

Depth for 100 Year Storm Surge

The depth of the storm surge for the 100-year storm surge flood risk area with 30-meter resolution.

To flag certain distance conditions,select one or more items in the selection list. (in feet).

Depth for 250 Year Storm Surge

The depth of the storm surge for the 250-year storm surge flood risk area with 30-meter resolution.

To flag certain distance conditions,select one or more items in the selection list. (in feet).

Depth for 500 Year Storm Surge

The depth of the storm surge for the 500-year storm surge flood risk area with 30-meter resolution

To flag certain distance conditions,select one or more items in the selection list. (in feet).