Bridges damaged during the 2019 Poldokhtar flood : towards flood-resilient bridges

Bridges are among the most vital parts of infrastructure networks in every country. Natural hazards such as floods and earthquakes have seriously damaged these structures in the past. Engineering communities have always faced challenges with these structures against floods. Today, the world faces climate change. Due to this phenomenon, severe floods have increased all over the world. This issue shows the possibility of significant bridge damage due to floods and demonstrates the importance of studying bridge performance under flood hazards. The Poldokhtar flood of 2019 in Iran was one of the most destructive floods in the last decade. The present research reviewed the performance of 14 bridges during the Poldokhtar flood and outlined the damage through a field investigation. Therefore, this paper aims to show the different reasons and scenarios for the destruction of different types of bridges during floods. These reasons and scenarios were prepared based on visual inspection and engineering judgment. Results emphasize the need to estimate bridge vulnerability and recommend procedures to prevent bridge destruction. They also recommend methods to retrofit existing bridges, and design bridges that are a major step toward flood-hazard resilient bridges.