Probabilistic life-cycle cost-benefit analysis of portfolios of buildings under flood hazard

Therefore, for these buildings, it is of vital importance to apply hazard risk mitigation strategies. In this paper, probabilistic cost-benefit analysis of flood risk mitigation strategies for portfolios of residential buildings is performed in a life-cycle context. Additionally, an efficient methodology is proposed to aid decision-makers on whether or not to retrofit portfolios of structures considering both expected and standard deviation of life-cycle cost. The vulnerability model of buildings under flood hazard is introduced considering serviceability and ultimate limit states. Probabilistic cost-benefit analysis is performed by comparing the effectiveness of different retrofit actions. Additionally, uncertainty and correlation effects are considered in the probabilistic loss and cost-benefit analysis procedures. The proposed approach is applied to a portfolio of residential buildings located in Florida to illustrate its capability and application. However, the proposed approach is general and can be applied to buildings located in other regions.