Climate Value at Risk: Quantify Building Damage from Natural Hazards
Estimate flood damage for any building worldwide using FEMA HAZUS and JRC depth-damage curves. Get structural loss, contents loss, and damage ratios in seconds.
How Climate Value at Risk Works
Three steps to quantify building-level flood damage using peer-reviewed depth-damage curves from FEMA and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.
Enter Building Details
Provide the flood depth, occupancy type, number of stories, and replacement value. Supports 33 HAZUS building categories from single-family homes to industrial facilities.
Dual-Model Estimation
HAZUS computes US-specific damage with separate structural and contents curves. JRC computes global damage using country-specific construction costs for 214 countries.
Get Results
Receive damage ratios, monetary loss estimates, and full depth-damage curve data. Both models run independently with complete source attribution.
Key Features
FEMA HAZUS 4.0
196 US depth-damage curves across 33 occupancy types. Separate structural and contents damage with basement-specific curves for residential buildings.
JRC Global Coverage
Huizinga et al. 2017 curves for 214 countries across 6 continents. Country-specific construction costs in EUR with standard deviations where available.
Dual-Model Comparison
Side-by-side HAZUS vs JRC results with transparency flags showing defaults used, fallback curves applied, and clamped depth boundaries.
Batch Processing
Estimate damage for up to 5,000 buildings per API call. Built for portfolio-level climate value at risk analysis at enterprise scale.
API Preview
Integrate climate value at risk estimation directly into your applications with a single API call.
POST /api/v1/damage/estimate/ { "depth_ft": 4.5, "occupancy": "RES1", "stories_int": "2", "basement": false, "flood_zone": "riverine", "replacement_value": 350000, "country_iso": "USA", "floor_area_m2": 185 }
// Response { "hazus": { "damage_ratio": 0.1842, "structural_loss": 64470.00, "contents_loss": 38325.00, "total_loss": 102795.00, "curve_source": "FIA" }, "jrc": { "damage_ratio": 0.3200, "total_loss_eur": 28416.00, "std_dev": 0.08, "continent": "north_america" } }
Who Uses Climate Value at Risk
Portfolio Risk Screening
Banks and asset managers quantify flood exposure across building portfolios for TCFD and ISSB physical risk disclosure. Batch 5,000 buildings per request for portfolio-level value at risk analysis.
Due Diligence
Identify high-damage-risk properties before acquisition or lending decisions. Screen individual buildings or entire portfolios against HAZUS and JRC damage curves in seconds.
Regulatory Stress Testing
Model damage scenarios across different flood depths for regulatory stress tests. Dual-model output provides independent US and global perspectives on expected annual loss.
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Technical Specifications
| US Model | FEMA HAZUS 4.0 (196 depth-damage curves, 33 occupancy types, 3 flood zones) |
|---|---|
| Global Model | JRC Huizinga et al. 2017 (214 countries, 6 continents, 6 building sectors) |
| Depth Range | HAZUS: -4 to +24 ft relative to first floor / JRC: 0 to 6 meters |
| Batch Limit | 5,000 buildings per API request |
| Damage Coverage | Structural + contents (HAZUS separate) / Combined (JRC) |
| Output | Damage ratio (0-1), monetary loss, depth-damage curve data, source attribution |
| Uncertainty | JRC standard deviations where available (~10 of 30 continent/sector combinations) |
| API Format | REST JSON with Bearer token authentication |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is climate value at risk?
Climate value at risk (Climate VaR) measures the potential monetary loss a building or portfolio could sustain from climate-related physical hazards like flooding. It combines hazard depth data with peer-reviewed depth-damage curves to produce damage ratios and dollar-value loss estimates.
How does flood damage estimation work?
Flood damage estimation uses depth-damage functions that map flood depth at a building to a damage ratio (0 to 1). The system takes the flood depth above ground, subtracts the first floor height, then interpolates along the damage curve to find the expected damage percentage. This ratio is multiplied by the building’s replacement value to calculate monetary loss.
What is the difference between HAZUS and JRC damage curves?
HAZUS (FEMA) provides 196 US-specific curves with separate structural and contents damage across 33 building types. JRC (European Commission) provides global curves for 214 countries with combined damage ratios across 6 building sectors. HAZUS offers finer building-type granularity while JRC provides broader geographic coverage.
How accurate is flood damage estimation?
Flood damage estimation provides screening-level accuracy appropriate for portfolio analysis and risk ranking. Research by Tate et al. found that flood loss estimates can vary by up to 3x depending on methodology. These estimates are best used for relative risk comparison across portfolios, not individual property-level loss prediction.
Can I estimate damage for buildings outside the US?
Yes. JRC damage curves cover 214 countries across 6 continents with country-specific construction cost data. Provide the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code and building floor area to receive JRC-based damage estimates in EUR. HAZUS curves are US-specific and not applicable to non-US buildings.
What building types are supported?
HAZUS supports 33 occupancy types across 7 categories: residential (12 types from single-family to nursing homes), commercial (10 types including retail, office, and hospitals), industrial (6 types), and other (agriculture, religious, government, education). JRC maps these to 6 broader sectors: residential, commercial, industrial, agriculture, transport, and infrastructure.
Ready to Quantify Your Climate Risk?
Start estimating building-level flood damage with FEMA HAZUS and JRC depth-damage curves.