Validation of methods for the assessment of physical vulnerability to dynamic flooding

The importance of assessing the physical vulnerability of assets to natural hazards is indisputable. Recent extreme events have shown that the severity of natural hazards is strongly linked to the vulnerability of the population and the built environment. Physical vulnerability, in particular, is directly connected to monetary damages and interruptions that are in the centre of the interests of several stakeholders including governments, authorities, insurance companies, engineers, and homeowners. A plethora of different approaches is available in the literature, nevertheless, two categories of approaches are the most prominent: vulnerability curves and vulnerability indicators. In this study, both are put to the test by using data from two relatively recent dynamic flood events. In more detail, a physical vulnerability index (PVI) and a Beta model based on damage data from Italy and Austria are validated using recent damage data from an event in Dimaro Folgarida (Trento, Italy) in 2018 and an event in Schallerbach (Tirol, Austria) in 2015. The study does not just validate the methods but also investigates remaining uncertainties related to the assessment of the process intensity on buildings and the calculation of the building value by conducting a sensitivity analysis.