Criticality Assessment of Lifeline Infrastructure for Enhancing Disaster Response

Abstract

In normal and hazardous situations, critical infrastructure systems such as roads, bridges, electricity, gas, and waste treatment fa- cilities play a very crucial role in sustaining communities and industries. It is thus very important to examine the functional and structural sta- bility of these supporting infrastructure systems. An assessment analyzing the criticality of infrastructure systems should be performed before impact of facing extreme events, such as hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. The criticality assessment involves using a decision support sys- temthatincorporatesvulnerabilityandseverityassessmentstoprovideemergencyagenciesandexperts,relevantinformationthatwillfacilitate an enhanced disaster mitigation response. This paper introduces the criticality assessment based on the interrelationships between the critical infrastructure systems, associated industries, and communities. The social, economic, and technical data of the 2008 Midwest floods were col- lectedthroughinterviews,siteinvestigations,andsurveyquestionnairesasapartofthisresearch.Methodologyincludesthezoneofinfluenceof critical infrastructure, activity analysis, social and economic contribution, and priority analysis between the activities and infrastructure sys- tems. Finally, the relative criticality levels of infrastructure systems were derived. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000084. © 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers. CE Database subject headings: Assessment; Infrastructure; Natural disasters; Decision support systems; Lifeline systems. Author keywords: Criticality assessment; Critical infrastructure; Interrelationships; Natural disaster; Decision support system. Role of Critical Infrastructure