KINGSTON, R.I. – Nov. 5, 2025 – According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration almost 40% of the U.S. population lives in a coastal county. From Maine to Florida, severe flooding can be common. In the Ocean State, communities like Narragansett have houses and apartments within a stone’s throw of the ocean.

Despite the high concentration of people living near the coast, there’s a notable gap in research concerning the impact of hurricane surges and wave-induced damage on residential and commercial infrastructure. Additionally, in-field damage assessments can be arduous, costly and require multiple steps.

Mehrshad Amini, an assistant professor of civil, environmental, and ocean engineering, at the University of Rhode Island is looking to close that gap. A paper based on his team’s research earned the DesignSafe Dataset Award this past spring. The award is conferred by the National Science Foundation in recognition of exemplary contributions to its data repository. This project was a collaboration between University of Rhode Island and Oregon State University.

Amini’s paper, Methodology for Virtual Damage Assessment and First-Floor Elevation Estimation, and its data explore a different way to assess damage to buildings due to storm surges and massive waves. His case study focused on the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, which struck Fort Myers Beach, Florida, in September 2022. The Category 4 storm inflicted an estimated over $120 billion in damage across Florida and other parts of the U.S., affecting residential, commercial, and industrial properties. 

Central to the methodology was the use of publicly accessible visual media. The team employed a combination of street level imagery, drone footage, and pre- and post-storm aerial photos of buildings to virtually assess structural damage: targeting damage to roofs, whether exterior walls were compromised, and foundational integrity. Damage severity was measured using a 0 to 6 scale, ranging from no damage (DS0) to complete damage (DS6) Additionally, first-floor elevation of buildings—an important variable in predicting building damage—was also measured. 

“There were around 3,000 buildings in Fort Myers in which we did component-based damage assessment and first-floor elevation measurements,” says Amini.

Amini worked with undergraduate students to assist in assessing damage, using public imagery, and determining first-floor elevations and foundation characteristics using pixel-based scaling and stair-counting techniques derived from imagery.

“We had a workshop for them—weekly meetings; we trained them how to do damage assessment,” says Amini. “For me, it was really interesting to engage engineering students and teach them about the basic concepts of damage and risk assessment in coastal regions.”

As a result, the findings demonstrate that damage assessment can be conducted virtually and cost-effectively using publicly available resources. 

“We looked at different building types, residential buildings, commercial buildings, wood frame, and masonry (structures). That’s also a new kind of dataset in this field, because most of the data is specifically for wood-frame buildings,” says Amini.

The research also underscores the significance of building materials and proximity to the shoreline in determining structural damage—concrete buildings, for instance, exhibited superior durability. 

“We identify the correlation between different parameters and the damage,” says Amini. For example, distance from the shoreline, foundation type, and building type; different agencies can use all those parameters to better understand damage in future events.”

Using this method can not only help in damage assessments following major disasters but it can help inform those developing building codes when it comes to new construction and flood plain maps.

“Interestingly the American Society of Civil Engineering last year published updated guidelines,” says Amini. “They’re going to require new buildings now be designed to withstand a 500-year flood event replacing the earlier 100-year design standard.” 

Though an award for his dataset, Amini’s work continues. He says more data is needed and is continuing his work on damage assessment looking at the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene in 2024.