HSD-SGER: Understanding Critical Infrastructure in Crisis: Impacts, Linkages and Resiliency in Hurricane Katrina

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This project will model the relationships of critical infrastructure in a community, and in particular the cascading effects of loss of key components in the system. The effort will focus on the Hurricane Katrina experience to provide a test bed for the examination of key factors and linkages in the effects of cascading failures as a result of a disaster. The research design will utilize three essential techniques: Key informant interviews, Case study, and Probabilistic modeling. Upon conclusion of the work, the research should provide a clearer understanding of the interrelatedness of key urban infrastructure systems during crisis events.The impact of the research will have a direct effect on three specific areas: 1) creating a better understanding of the interrelated vulnerability of infrastructure systems; 2) creating a more robust picture of the "ripple" effects that occurs in key infrastructure systems; and 3) increasing our ability to model "resiliency" in a community by identifying critical inputs in the development of fragility curves across systems.The results will have implications for hazards mitigation planning and research with respect to natural and technologically-induced disaster events, as well as direct implications for Homeland Security efforts. In both cases, a clearer understanding of the vulnerability and potential resiliency of a community's infrastructure will provide insight into the best allocation of resources to improve capacity and preparedness.