Modeling of Hurricane Surge and Waves in the Built Environment: Hurricane Ian Workshop #3 Report

Published

May 6, 2026

Author(s)

Daniel Cox, Mehrshad Amini, Keenan Hubbard, James Kaihatu, Andrew Kennedy, Erick Velasco-Reyes, Dylan Sanderson, Donald Slinn

Abstract

This report summarizes the proceedings and outcomes of the third Hurricane Ian Workshop, held on September 5, 2025, in Alexandria, Virginia. The purpose of the workshop was to explore the state-of-the-art in numerical modeling of overland flow in the built environment, focusing specifically on the hazard variables of surge, waves, and currents that critically affect structural integrity during hurricane landfall. The scope included an examination of model complexities and accuracies, ranging from time-averaged models like WHAFIS (used for flood insurance studies) to highly resolved, time-dependent models like OpenFOAM (Open Field Operation and Manipulation) and Delft3D-FM (Delft3D-Flexible Mesh Suite), and their application to events like Hurricane Ian. The conclusions/recommendations synthesized from the discussions resulted in three high priority actionable items intended to yield advancements in overland flow prediction: (1) preparation of a comprehensive, state-of-the-art review paper on existing overland flow models; (2) initiation of an inter-model comparison study for a fixed domain (e.g., Estero Island) with common boundary conditions to identify modeling gaps; and (3) a scoping study for largescale laboratory validation experiments to benchmark numerical model performance against real-world, multi-hazard phenomena.

Citation

National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program Series (NWIRP) - 1-3

Report Number

1-3

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.NWIRP.GCR.1-3

Local Download

Keywords

Building damage, Built environment, Coastal flooding, Flood hazards, Hurricane Ian, Hurricane landfall, Numerical modeling, Ocean currents, Overland flow, Storm surge, Waves.

Citation

Cox, D. , Amini, M. , Hubbard, K. , Kaihatu, J. , Kennedy, A. , Velasco-Reyes, E. , Sanderson, D. and Slinn, D. (2026), Modeling of Hurricane Surge and Waves in the Built Environment: Hurricane Ian Workshop #3 Report, National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program Series (NWIRP), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.NWIRP.GCR.1-3, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=962070 (Accessed May 7, 2026)

Additional citation formats