3D model of the terminal roof structure
On 12th October 2014, a very severe cyclonic storm Hudhud made landfall in the coast of Andhra Pradesh over Visakhapatnam. During landfall, the cyclone had a maximum sustained wind speed of 180 kmph. The cyclone also caused heavy rainfall with strong gale winds leading to large scale structural damage over Visakhapatnam and along the cost of Northern Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Orissa. The strong gale winds caused heavy damage to the terminal roof and adjoining buildings. Although the terminal roof was designed for such heavy wind pressures, the entire roofing sheet of the terminal was blown away. This was largely because the roof at the time was made of thin GI roofing sheets and the connections between the roofing sheet and the roof purlins were not designed or sufficiently enough to resist the extreme gale forces. As a result the connection between the roofing sheet and the purlins failed and sheets was blown off. Subsequently the roof insulation, false ceiling and HVAC installments got exposed to very severe wind and rain causing these items to be completely blown away. However, once the roofing sheet failed and was blown off, the wind fore on the roof truss reduced considerably and therefore the roof truss was largely intact and undamaged.
