Determining Water Damage from Storm-Created Openings after Hurricane Florence

Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, at 7:15 am Friday, September 14, 2018, as a Category 1 hurricane. At the time of landfall, Florence had maximum sustained winds of about 90 mph. After landfall, Florence’s winds steadily weakened as it moved inland. However, over the next two days it produced record-breaking rainfall, which was over 30 in. in some North Carolina locations, including near a sprawling apartment complex outside Wilmington. The authors were tasked with determining the nature and extent of wind/water damage to the property as a result of this historic hurricane. The investigation included several site visits and in situ testing of windows to ultimately determine what water damage was due to “storm-created openings.” The window tests included spray testing, sill dam testing, and deflection testing—all of which are detailed herein. Furthermore, this paper discusses the methods used during this investigation to determine damage from wind-driven rain versus top-down water intrusion to provide advice to other design professionals.