Snow load damage to buildings: physical and economic impacts

This study examines the physical and economic impacts of snow-related building failures occurring in the USA between autumn 2008 and spring 2011. The study employed a web-based survey distributed to owners and operators of 332 buildings. These buildings were identified in newspaper archives or online news sources as having been damaged by snow loads. This paper describes the 40 responses received. Damage to these buildings ranged from minor to complete collapse; survey responses showed that the roof structure and non-structural roofing and ceiling materials were particularly impacted. Certain structural types (especially timber roofed) and older buildings tended to experience higher levels of damage. On average, the buildings incurred US$ 166 per gross m² of costs associated with repairing or rebuilding, damaged US$ 25 per gross m² of property and building contents, and interrupted business or other operations for 122 days. Collection of these data represents a first step towards the development of loss estimation models needed for a comprehensive performance-based engineering framework for the design and assessment of buildings under snow loads.