Vulnerability assessment and interdependency analysis of critical infrastructures for climate adaptation and flood mitigation

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolfo Jr. Espada ◽  
Armando Apan ◽  
Kevin McDougall
Keyword(s):  
Vulnerability Assessment ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
System Of Systems ◽  
Flood Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Critical Infrastructures ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a novel approach that examines the vulnerability and interdependency of critical infrastructures using the network theory in geographic information system (GIS) setting in combination with literature and government reports. Specifically, the objectives of this study were to generate the network models of critical infrastructure systems (CISs), particularly electricity, roads and sewerage networks; to characterize the CISs’ interdependencies; and to outline the climate adaptation (CA) and flood mitigation measures of CIS. Design/methodology/approach – An integrated approach was undertaken in assessing the vulnerability and interdependency of critical infrastructures. A single system model and system-of-systems model were operationalized to examine the vulnerability and interdependency of the identified critical infrastructures in GIS environment. Existing CA and flood mitigation measures from government reports were integrated in the above-mentioned findings to better understand and gain focus in the implementation of natural disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies, particularly during the 2010/2011 floods in Queensland, Australia. Findings – Using the results from the above-mentioned approach, the spatially explicit framework was developed with four key operational dimensions: conceiving the climate risk environment; understanding the critical infrastructures’ common cause and cascade failures; modeling individual infrastructure system and system-of-systems level within GIS setting; and integrating the above-mentioned results with the government reports to increase CA and resilience measures of flood-affected critical infrastructures. Research limitations/implications – While natural DRR measures include preparation, response and recovery, this study focused on flood mitigation. Temporal analysis and application to other natural disasters were also not considered in the analysis. Practical implications – By providing this information, government-owned corporations, CISs managers and other concerned stakeholders will allow to identify infrastructure assets that are highly critical, identify vulnerable infrastructures within areas of very high flood risk, examine the interdependency of critical infrastructures and the effects of cascaded failures, identify ways of reducing flood risk and extreme climate events and prioritize DRR measures and CA strategies. Originality/value – The individualist or “pigeon-hole” approach has been the common method of analyzing infrastructures’ exposure to flood hazards and tends to separately examine the risk for different types of infrastructure (e.g. electricity, water, sewerage, roads and rails and stormwater). This study introduced an integrated approach of analyzing infrastructure risk to damage and cascade failure due to flooding. Aside from introducing the integrated approach, this study operationalized GIS-based vulnerability assessment and interdependency of critical infrastructures which had been unsubstantially considered in the past analytical frameworks. The authors considered this study of high significance, considering that floodplain planning schemes often lack the consideration of critical infrastructure interdependency.

Vulnerability assessment of urban community and critical infrastructures for integrated flood risk management and climate adaptation strategies

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf Espada ◽  
Armando Apan ◽  
Kevin McDougall
Keyword(s):  
Flood Risk ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Community ◽  
Adaptation Strategies ◽  
Critical Infrastructures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adaptation Capacity ◽  
High Flood ◽  
Very High

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to develop an integrated framework for assessing the flood risk and climate adaptation capacity of an urban area and its critical infrastructures to help address flood risk management issues and identify climate adaptation strategies. Design/methodology/approach Using the January 2011 flood in the core suburbs of Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia, various spatial analytical tools (i.e. digital elevation modeling and urban morphological characterization with 3D analysis, spatial analysis with fuzzy logic, proximity analysis, line statistics, quadrat analysis, collect events analysis, spatial autocorrelation techniques with global Moran’s I and local Moran’s I, inverse distance weight method, and hot spot analysis) were implemented to transform and standardize hazard, vulnerability, and exposure indicating variables. The issue on the sufficiency of indicating variables was addressed using the topological cluster analysis of a two-dimension self-organizing neural network (SONN) structured with 100 neurons and trained by 200 epochs. Furthermore, the suitability of flood risk modeling was addressed by aggregating the indicating variables with weighted overlay and modified fuzzy gamma overlay operations using the Bayesian joint conditional probability weights. Variable weights were assigned to address the limitations of normative (equal weights) and deductive (expert judgment) approaches. Applying geographic information system (GIS) and appropriate equations, the flood risk and climate adaptation capacity indices of the study area were calculated and corresponding maps were generated. Findings The analyses showed that on the average, 36 (approximately 813 ha) and 14 per cent (approximately 316 ha) of the study area were exposed to very high flood risk and low adaptation capacity, respectively. In total, 93 per cent of the study area revealed negative adaptation capacity metrics (i.e. minimum of −23 to <0), which implies that the socio-economic resources in the area are not enough to increase climate resilience of the urban community (i.e. Brisbane City) and its critical infrastructures. Research limitations/implications While the framework in this study was obtained through a robust approach, the following are the research limitations and recommended for further examination: analyzing and incorporating the impacts of economic growth; population growth; technological advancement; climate and environmental disturbances; and climate change; and applying the framework in assessing the risks to natural environments such as in agricultural areas, forest protection and production areas, biodiversity conservation areas, natural heritage sites, watersheds or river basins, parks and recreation areas, coastal regions, etc. Practical implications This study provides a tool for high level analyses and identifies adaptation strategies to enable urban communities and critical infrastructure industries to better prepare and mitigate future flood events. The disaster risk reduction measures and climate adaptation strategies to increase urban community and critical infrastructure resilience were identified in this study. These include mitigation on areas of low flood risk or very high climate adaptation capacity; mitigation to preparedness on areas of moderate flood risk and high climate adaptation capacity; mitigation to response on areas of high flood risk and moderate climate adaptation capacity; and mitigation to recovery on areas of very high flood risk and low climate adaptation capacity. The implications of integrating disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation strategies were further examined. Originality/value The newly developed spatially explicit analytical technique, identified in this study as the Flood Risk-Adaptation Capacity Index-Adaptation Strategies (FRACIAS) Linkage/Integrated Model, allows the integration of flood risk and climate adaptation assessments which had been treated separately in the past. By applying the FRACIAS linkage/integrated model in the context of flood risk and climate adaptation capacity assessments, the authors established a framework for enhancing measures and adaptation strategies to increase urban community and critical infrastructure resilience to flood risk and climate-related events.

Conceptualization of a Critical Infrastructure Network – Model for Flood Risk Assessments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Schotten ◽  
Daniel Bachmann
Keyword(s):  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Critical Infrastructures ◽  
Flood Exposure ◽  
Infrastructure Network ◽  
Flood Risk Analysis ◽  
De Bruijn

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;In flood risk analysis it is a key principle to predetermine consequences of flooding to assets, people and infrastructures. Damages to critical infrastructures are not restricted to the flooded area. The effects of directly affected objects cascades to other infrastructures, which are not directly affected by a flood. Modelling critical infrastructure networks is one possible answer to the question &amp;#8216;how to include indirect and direct impacts to critical infrastructures?&amp;#8217;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Critical infrastructures are connected in very complex networks. The modelling of those networks has been a basis for different purposes (Ouyang, 2014). Thus, it is a challenge to determine the right method to model a critical infrastructure network. For this example, a network-based and topology-based method will be applied (Pant et al., 2018). The basic model elements are points, connectors and polygons which are utilized to resemble the critical infrastructure network characteristics.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The objective of this model is to complement the state-of-the-art flood risk analysis with a quantitative analysis of critical infrastructure damages and disruptions for people and infrastructures. These results deliver an extended basis to differentiate the flood risk assessment and to derive measures for flood risk mitigation strategies. From a technical point of view, a critical infrastructure damage analysis will be integrated into the tool ProMaIDes (Bachmann, 2020), a free software for a risk-based evaluation of flood risk mitigation measures.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The data on critical infrastructure cascades and their potential linkages is scars but necessary for an actionable modelling. The CIrcle method from Deltares delivers a method for a workshop that has proven to deliver applicable datasets for identifying and connecting infrastructures on basis of cascading effects (de Bruijn et al., 2019). The data gained from CIrcle workshops will be one compound for the critical infrastructure network model.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Acknowledgment: This work is part of the BMBF-IKARIM funded project PARADes (Participatory assessment of flood related disaster prevention and development of an adapted coping system in Ghana).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bachmann, D. (2020). ProMaIDeS - Knowledge Base. https://promaides.myjetbrains.com&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;de Bruijn, K. M., Maran, C., Zygnerski, M., Jurado, J., Burzel, A., Jeuken, C., &amp; Obeysekera, J. (2019). Flood resilience of critical infrastructure: Approach and method applied to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Water (Switzerland), 11(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030517&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ouyang, M. (2014). Review on modeling and simulation of interdependent critical infrastructure systems. Reliability Engineering and System Safety, 121, 43&amp;#8211;60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2013.06.040&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Pant, R., Thacker, S., Hall, J. W., Alderson, D., &amp; Barr, S. (2018). Critical infrastructure impact assessment due to flood exposure. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 11(1), 22&amp;#8211;33. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.12288&lt;/p&gt;

Cybersecurity capabilities for critical infrastructure resilience

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masike Malatji ◽  
Annlizé L. Marnewick ◽  
Suné Von Solms
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Computing ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Industrial Control Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Standards And Guidelines ◽  
Attack Surfaces

Purpose For many innovative organisations, Industry 4.0 paves the way for significant operational efficiencies, quality of goods and services and cost reductions. One of the ways to realise these benefits is to embark on digital transformation initiatives that may be summed up as the intelligent interconnectivity of people, processes, data and cyber-connected things. Sadly, this interconnectivity between the enterprise information technology (IT) and industrial control systems (ICS) environment introduces new attack surfaces for critical infrastructure (CI) operators. As a result of the ICS cybersecurity risk introduced by the interconnectivity between the enterprise IT and ICS networks, the purpose of this study is to identify the cybersecurity capabilities that CI operators must have to attain good cybersecurity resilience. Design/methodology/approach A scoping literature review of best practice international CI protection frameworks, standards and guidelines were conducted. Similar cybersecurity practices from these frameworks, standards and guidelines were grouped together under a corresponding National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity framework (CF) practice. Practices that could not be categorised under any of the existing NIST CF practices were considered new insights, and therefore, additions. Findings A CI cybersecurity capability framework comprising 29 capability domains (cybersecurity focus areas) was developed as an adaptation of the NIST CF with an added dimension. This added dimension emphasises cloud computing and internet of things (IoT) security. Each of the 29 cybersecurity capability domains is executed through various capabilities (cybersecurity processes and procedures). The study found that each cybersecurity capability can further be operationalised by a set of cybersecurity controls derived from various frameworks, standards and guidelines, such as COBIT®, CIS®, ISA/IEC 62443, ISO/IEC 27002 and NIST Special Publication 800-53. Practical implications CI sectors are immediately able to adopt the CI cybersecurity capability framework to evaluate their levels of resilience against cyber-attacks, given new attack surfaces introduced by the interconnectivity of cyber-connected things between the enterprise and ICS levels. Originality/value The authors present an added dimension to the NIST framework for CI cyber protection. In addition to emphasising cryptography, IoT and cloud computing security aspects, this added dimension highlights the need for an integrated approach to CI cybersecurity resilience instead of a piecemeal approach.

scholarly journals Planning Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Flood Reduction and Thermal Comfort Enhancement

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 6361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majidi ◽  
Vojinovic ◽  
Alves ◽  
Weesakul ◽  
Sanchez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Flood Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Urban Flood ◽  
Flood Risk Reduction

As a consequence of climate change and urbanization, many cities will have to deal with more flooding and extreme heat stress. This paper presents a framework to maximize the effectiveness of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) for flood risk reduction and thermal comfort enhancement. The framework involves an assessment of hazards with the use of models and field measurements. It also detects suitable implementation sites for NBS and quantifies their effectiveness for thermal comfort enhancement and flood risk reduction. The framework was applied in a densely urbanized study area, for which different small-scale urban NBS and their potential locations for implementation were assessed. The overall results show that the most effective performance in terms of flood mitigation and thermal comfort enhancement is likely achieved by applying a range of different measures at different locations. Therefore, the work presented here shows the potential of the framework to achieve an effective combination of measures and their locations, which was demonstrated on the case of the Sukhumvit area in Bangkok (Thailand). This can be particularly suitable for assessing and planning flood mitigation measures in combination with heat stress reduction.

A comparative analysis of property level flood mitigation behaviour in the regions of England

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlies H Barendrecht ◽  
Simon McCarthy ◽  
Alberto Viglione
Keyword(s):  
Flood Risk ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Flood Risk Management ◽  
Flood Mitigation ◽  
North West ◽  
South West ◽  
Property Owners ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Hierarchical Beta

&lt;p&gt;Even though there has been a move towards a more integrated approach to flood risk management, with a stronger focus on property level measures to reduce flood risk, the uptake of property level measures remains low. Experience has been found to influence the uptake of measures, but even property owners with experience do not always take measures to prepare for future flooding. In this paper we investigate the variations in the relationship between experience and preparedness (i.e. the uptake of property level measures) for the different regions of England. We use survey data collected among the population at risk in the years 1996 to 2004 and perform a hierarchical beta regression to determine the differences between the seven regions. We find that the South West and Southern regions have a higher increase in preparedness with increasing experience compared to other regions. In the Thames, Midlands and North West the preparedness increases less with increasing experience. Based on an analysis of additional data sources (e.g. surveys and maps of structural protection and population) we provide a possible explanation as to why the behaviour of property owners in these regions could be different.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Modeling the Impact of Building-Level Flood Mitigation Measures Made Possible by Early Flood Warnings on Community-Level Flood Loss Reduction

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 475
Author(s):  
Omar M. Nofal ◽  
John W. van de van de Lindt ◽  
Harvey Cutler ◽  
Martin Shields ◽  
Kevin Crofton
Keyword(s):  
Flood Risk ◽  
Risk Model ◽  
Flood Hazard ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Flood Mitigation ◽  
Precipitation Forecast ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Flood Vulnerability ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Flood Warnings

The growing number of flood disasters worldwide and the subsequent catastrophic consequences of these events have revealed the flood vulnerability of communities. Flood impact predictions are essential for better flood risk management which can result in an improvement of flood preparedness for vulnerable communities. Early flood warnings can provide households and business owners additional time to save certain possessions or products in their buildings. This can be accomplished by elevating some of the water-sensitive components (e.g., appliances, furniture, electronics, etc.) or installing a temporary flood barrier. Although many qualitative and quantitative flood risk models have been developed and highlighted in the literature, the resolution used in these models does not allow a detailed analysis of flood mitigation at the building- and community level. Therefore, in this article, a high-fidelity flood risk model was used to provide a linkage between the outputs from a high-resolution flood hazard model integrated with a component-based probabilistic flood vulnerability model to account for the damage for each building within the community. The developed model allowed to investigate the benefits of using a precipitation forecast system that allows a lead time for the community to protect its assets and thereby decreasing the amount of flood-induced losses.

scholarly journals Challenges to implementing bottom-up flood risk decision analysis frameworks: how strong are social networks of flooding professionals?

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5657-5673 ◽  
Author(s):  
James O. Knighton ◽  
Osamu Tsuda ◽  
Rebecca Elliott ◽  
M. Todd Walter
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Flood Mitigation ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Bottom Up

Abstract. Recent developments in bottom-up vulnerability-based decision analysis frameworks present promising opportunities for flood practitioners to simplify complex decisions regarding risk mitigation and climate adaptation. This family of methodologies relies on strong social networks among flood practitioners and the public to support careful definition of stakeholder-relevant thresholds and vulnerabilities to hazards. In parallel, flood researchers are directly considering distinct atmospheric mechanisms that induce flooding to readily incorporate information on future climate projections. We perform a case study of flood professionals actively engaged in flood risk mitigation within Tompkins County, New York, USA, a community dealing with moderate flooding, to gage how much variance exists among professionals from the perspective of establishing a bottom-up flood mitigation study from an atmospheric perspective. Results of this case study indicate disagreement among flooding professionals as to which socioeconomic losses constitute a flood, disagreement on anticipated community needs, weak understanding of climate–weather–flood linkages, and some disagreement on community perceptions of climate adaptation. In aggregate, the knowledge base of the Tompkins County flood practitioners provides a well-defined picture of community vulnerability and perceptions. Our research supports the growing evidence that collaborative interdisciplinary flood mitigation work could reduce risk, and potentially better support the implementation of emerging bottom-up decision analysis frameworks for flood mitigation and climate adaptation.

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