A River Flood and Earthquake Risk Assessment of Railway Assets along the Belt and Road

Qianzhi Wang,Elco E Koks,Ming Wang,Kai Liu

doi:10.1007/s13753-021-00358-2

Qianzhi Wang, Elco E Koks + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-021-00358-2

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Abstract

Mitigating the disaster risk of transportation infrastructure networks along the Belt and Road is crucial to realizing the area’s high trade potential in the future. This study assessed the exposure and risk of existing and planned railway assets to river flooding and earthquakes. We found that about 9.3% of these railway assets are exposed to a one in 100 year flood event, and 22.3% are exposed to a one in 475 year earthquake event. The combined flood and earthquake risk of physical damage to railway assets, expressed by expected annual damage (EAD), is estimated at USD 1438 (between 966 and 2026) million. Floods contribute the majority of the risk (96%). China has the highest EAD for both floods and earthquakes (between USD 240 and 525 million in total). Laos and Cambodia are the countries with the highest EAD per km from flooding (USD 66,125–112,154 and USD 31,954–56,844 per km, respectively), while Italy and Myanmar have the highest EAD per km from earthquakes (USD 1000–3057 and USD 893–3019 per km, respectively). For the newly built and planned projects along the Belt and Road, the EAD is estimated at USD 271 (between 205 and 357) million. The China–Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor and China–Pakistan Economic Corridor have the highest absolute EAD and EAD per km, with EADs reaching USD 95 and USD 67 million, and USD 18 and USD 17 thousand per km, on average, respectively. For railway segments with high risks, we found that if the required adaptation cost within 20 years to realize a 10% increase of the railway quality is below 8.4% of the replacement cost, the benefits are positive.

Highlights

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), initially announced in 2013, aims to promote connectivity and cooperation among countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe (Yu et al 2018)
We found that 9.3% of railway assets in the selected countries are exposed to a one in 100 year flood event and 22.3% are exposed to a one in 475 year earthquake event
This study assesses the existing and planned railway asset risk with respect to two major natural hazards—river floods and earthquakes—among 50 countries along the Belt and Road (B&R), which contributes to closing the gap of multi-hazard risk assessment faced by transportation infrastructure along the B&R

Summary

Introduction

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), initially announced in 2013, aims to promote connectivity and cooperation among countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe (Yu et al 2018). Prepared for the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Natural hazards and disaster risk in One Belt One Road corridors. Greening China’s Belt and Road initiative in Myanmar: Rapid assessment of opportunities and risks for Myanmar’s natural capital. A global multi-hazard risk analysis of road and railway infrastructure assets. Spatio-temporal patterns of natural disasters in countries along the Belt and Road. Assessing flood risk at the global scale: Model setup, results, and sensitivity. A framework for global river flood risk assessments. H.C., J.C. Aerts, L.P. Van Beek, M.F. Bierkens, A. Information diffusion-based risk assessment of natural disasters along the silk road economic belt in China.

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