WIND DAMAGE TO BUILDINGS, INFRASTRUCUTURE AND LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS ALONG THE BEACH ROAD AT VISAKHAPATNAM

Mohan Kotamrazu

Abstract: Cyclone Hudhud, which made its landfall at Visakhapatnam on 12th October 2014, damaged a large number of buildings, industrial installations, severed electrical and communication lines and wiped out more than half of the city’s green cover. The 27 km long stretch of the Visakha-Bheemli Beach road bore the major brunt of the cyclone. This paper reports the results of a visual study carried out by the author to assess the damage to buildings, infrastructure and hard and soft landscape along the VisakhaBheemli beach road and its vicinity. The study would be useful for understanding the vulnerability of these elements to cyclonic winds

Keywords: Wind damage, buildings, infrastructure, hardscape elements, softscape elements.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15623/ijret.2014.0328010