Tropical cyclone engineering, or hurricane engineering, is a specialist sub-discipline of

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

that encompasses planning, analysis, design, response, and recovery of civil engineering systems and infrastructure for

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

hazards. Hurricane engineering is a relatively new and emerging discipline within the field of civil engineering. It is an integration of many recognized branches of engineering, such as

structural engineering Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and joints' that create the form and shape of human-made Structure#Load-bearing, structures. Structural engineers also ...

wind engineering Wind engineering is a subset of mechanical engineering, structural engineering, meteorology, and applied physics that analyzes the effects of wind in the natural and the built environment and studies the possible damage, inconvenience or benefit ...

coastal engineering Coastal engineering is a branch of civil engineering concerned with the specific demands posed by constructing at or near the coast, as well as the development of the coast itself. The fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic impact of especially wind wave, ...

, and

forensic engineering Forensic engineering has been defined as "the investigation of failures—ranging from serviceability to catastrophic—which may lead to legal activity, including both civil and criminal". The forensic engineering field is very broad in terms o ...

, with other recognized sciences and planning functions such as,

climatology Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "slope"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. Climate concerns the atmospher ...

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of to ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

emergency management Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...

and preparedness, hazard mitigation, and hazard vulnerability analysis. Hurricane engineering aims to minimize risks to human safety, the natural and built environment, and business processes.

United States

As a result of the tremendous threats to life safety and economic disruptions caused by the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

hurricane seasons, governmental organizations, such as the United States

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

, have recognized the need to better understand hurricane threats and further establish this discipline. In September 2006, the

National Science Board The National Science Board (NSB) of the United States establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President of the United States, president and the United ...

released recommendations to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

calling for major new investments in hurricane science and engineering. Accredited university engineering programs, such as the

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

civil engineering department and

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, are establishing programs to better understand these catastrophic storms and their interaction with the environment. The LSU Hurricane Center has begun to offer hurricane engineering courses with the focus of educating students on the unique threats caused by hurricanes. The past two decades have witnessed exponential growth in damage due to hurricanes and the situation continues to deteriorate. The most vulnerable areas, coastal counties along the Gulf and Atlantic seaboards, are experiencing greater population growth and development than anyplace else in the country. If the trend of rapidly increasing losses caused by hurricanes is to be reversed, a whole new philosophy of understanding, planning, and preparedness is required. The Hurricane Engineering curriculum is the result of a multidisciplinary project aimed at giving engineering students a comprehensive understanding of the hazards associated with hurricanes: *Extreme winds *Windborne debris *Storm surges *River flooding *Rain-induced landslides

Northwest Pacific

In the Northwest Pacific, where the term for strong tropical cyclones is

typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

, the concept of typhoon engineering, which is very similar to Hurricane Engineering, is being proposed.

References

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External links

NSF Hurricane Engineering and Science Recommendations

American Society of Civil Engineers: papers and articles about hurricane analysis, response and mitigation

LSU Hurricane Engineering curriculum development

Environmental engineering {{tropical-cyclone-stub