Urban Forests in Florida: Storm Damage Assessment Utility for Estimating Hurricane-caused Tree Debris

Abstract

Hurricane events present substantial challenges to Florida cities and counties when responding to storm damage and removing debris. Calculating urban forest debris can help cities improve both their pre-hurricane planning and their post-hurricane response. The ability to plan for potential debris rates before a wind storm and to measure tree debris and other tree-related costs quickly and accurately after a wind storm facilitates the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursement process and may indirectly impact communities' relationships with FEMA throughout recovery operations