Winter Storm Uri: A Test of Texas’ Water Infrastructure and Water Resource Resilience to Extreme Winter Weather Events

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael R. Glazer ◽  
Darrel M. Tremaine ◽  
Jay L. Banner ◽  
Margaret Cook ◽  
Robert E. Mace ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Water Infrastructure ◽  
Winter Storm ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Small Water ◽  
Vulnerable Communities ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Infrastructure Resilience

We synthesize the interconnected impacts of Texas’ water and energy resources and infrastructure including the cascading effects due to Winter Storm Uri. The government’s preparedness, communication, policies, and response as well as storm impacts on vulnerable communities are evaluated using available information and data. Where knowledge gaps exist, we propose potential research to elucidate health, environmental, policy, and economic impacts of the extreme weather event. We expect that recommendations made here — while specific to the situation and outcomes of Winter Storm Uri — will increase Texas’ resilience to other extreme weather events not discussed in this paper. We found that out of 14 million residents who were on boil water notices, those who were served by very small water systems went, on average, a minimum of three days longer without potable water. Available county-level data do not indicate vulnerable communities went longer periods of time without power or water during the event. More resolved data are required to understand who was most heavily impacted at the community or neighborhood level. Gaps in government communication, response, and policy are discussed, including issues with identifying — and securing power to — critical infrastructure and the fact that the state’s Emergency Alert System was not used consistently to update Texans during the crisis. Finally, research recommendations are made to bolster weaknesses discovered during and after the storm including (1) reliable communication strategies, (2) reducing disproportionate impacts to vulnerable communities, (3) human health impacts, (4) increasing water infrastructure resilience, and (5) how climate change could impact infrastructure resilience into the future.

Measuring Societal Vulnerability to Critical Infrastructure Failure due to Extreme Weather Events

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 13-19
Author(s):  
Maria Luskova ◽  
Bohus Leitner
Keyword(s):  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Global Risk ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
The World ◽  
Security Property

Climate change and the associated more frequent and unpredictable occurrence of extreme weather events are according to the Global Risk Report (2020), published by the World Economic Forum, among the top five risks today. Although the effects of extreme weather vary around the world and in regions, their effects on social – economic and natural systems are becoming increasingly important and require an active solution. In this context, it is important to address the individual areas of human society vulnerability, as their assessment is the basic information necessary for improving risk reduction and preparedness to extreme weather events. The paper underlines the importance of critical infrastructure as an asset or system whose disruption or destruction could have a range of serious implications for the performance of economic and social functions of the state and thus on the inhabitants in terms of their life, health, security, property and environment protection. It provides selection of past cases of extreme weather events having impacts on critical infrastructure in sector energy and transportation throughout Europe and their impacts on society. Subsequently own approach to measuring societal vulnerability due to impact of extreme weather event on critical infrastructure is presented. In conclusion recommendations supporting the proactive approach to building resilient critical infrastructure which contributes to resilient society are presented.

Measuring Societal Vulnerability to Critical Infrastructure Failure Due to Extreme Weather Events

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26
Author(s):  
Maria Luskova ◽  
Bohus Leitner
Keyword(s):  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Global Risk ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
The World ◽  
Security Property

Climate change and the associated more frequent and unpredictable occurrence of extreme weather events are according to the Global Risk Report (2020), published by the World Economic Forum, among the top five risks today. Although the effects of extreme weather vary around the world and in regions, their effects on social – economic and natural systems are becoming increasingly important and require an active solution. In this context, it is important to address the individual areas of human society vulnerability, as their assessment is the basic information necessary for improving risk reduction and preparedness to extreme weather events. The paper underlines the importance of critical infrastructure as an asset or system whose disruption or destruction could have a range of serious implications for the performance of economic and social functions of the state and thus on the inhabitants in terms of their life, health, security, property and environment protection. It provides selection of past cases of extreme weather events having impacts on critical infrastructure in sector energy and transportation throughout Europe and their impacts on society. Subsequently own approach to measuring societal vulnerability due to impact of extreme weather event on critical infrastructure is presented. In conclusion recommendations supporting the proactive approach to building resilient critical infrastructure which contributes to resilient society are presented.

An Integrated Critical Infrastructure Risk and Resilience Concept in the Context of Extreme Weather Events and Global Change

2016 ◽  
Vol 03 (04) ◽  
pp. 1650015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Schwab ◽  
Claudia Berchtold ◽  
Anna Goris
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Management Concepts ◽  
Set Up

A review of risk assessment research in the context of extreme weather events (EWE) reveals that conceptual approaches addressing the risk of critical infrastructures (CI) focus primarily on single components and factors of CI that are at risk. The objective of the paper is to introduce an integrative framework that considers the complex set-up of CI and links it to newer conceptualizations of risk management and adaptation. Drawing on existing risk and resilience approaches, this paper brings together aspects of the engineering community, which currently dominate CI-related research, and of disaster risk reduction research communities, resilience and adaptation research in the context of natural hazards. The paper thereby presents an adapted approach that particularly addresses interdependencies of infrastructures as well as future dynamics. The risk concept applied is based on the IPCC framework and considers the manifold impacts of CI failures upon society, economy and environment. Recommendations for risk management regimes are thereby formulated in the context of EWE. Based on a more holistic socio-ecological systems’ perspective, the approach covers the dynamic transformation of a system’s resilience state. The framework provides a tool and concept to improve the understanding of the multitude factors determining the risks of EWE for CI. Additional research is required for the further operationalization of the conceptual framework, such as the development of indicators, in order to enable the practical implementation for the support of risk management concepts.

scholarly journals Flood Impacts on Critical Infrastructure in a Coastal Floodplain in Western Puerto Rico during Hurricane María

Hydrology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Said A. Mejia Manrique ◽  
Eric W. Harmsen ◽  
Reza M. Khanbilvardi ◽  
Jorge E. González
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Flood Plain ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Discharge Data ◽  
Coastal Flood ◽  
Flood Depth ◽  
Weather Events

Flooding during extreme weather events damages critical infrastructure, property, and threatens lives. Hurricane María devastated Puerto Rico (PR) on 20 September 2017. Sixty-four deaths were directly attributable to the flooding. This paper describes the development of a hydrologic model using the Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA), capable of simulating flood depth and extent for the Añasco coastal flood plain in Western PR. The purpose of the study was to develop a numerical model to simulate flooding from extreme weather events and to evaluate the impacts on critical infrastructure and communities; Hurricane María is used as a case study. GSSHA was calibrated for Irma, a Category 3 hurricane, which struck the northeastern corner of the island on 7 September 2017, two weeks before Hurricane María. The upper Añasco watershed was calibrated using United States Geological Survey (USGS) stream discharge data. The model was validated using a storm of similar magnitude on 11–13 December 2007. Owing to the damage sustained by PR’s WSR-88D weather radar during Hurricane María, rainfall was estimated in this study using the Weather Research Forecast (WRF) model. Flooding in the coastal floodplain during Hurricane María was simulated using three methods: (1) Use of observed discharge hydrograph from the upper watershed as an inflow boundary condition for the coastal floodplain area, along with the WRF rainfall in the coastal flood plain; (2) Use of WRF rainfall to simulate runoff in the upper watershed and coastal flood plain; and (3) Similar to approach (2), except the use of bias-corrected WRF rainfall. Flooding results were compared with forty-two values of flood depth obtained during face-to-face interviews with residents of the affected communities. Impacts on critical infrastructure (water, electric, and public schools) were evaluated, assuming any structure exposed to 20 cm or more of flooding would sustain damage. Calibration equations were also used to improve flood depth estimates. Our model included the influence of storm surge, which we found to have a minimal effect on flood depths within the study area. Water infrastructure was more severely impacted by flooding than electrical infrastructure. From these findings, we conclude that the model developed in this study can be used with sufficient accuracy to identify infrastructure affected by future flooding events.

scholarly journals Systemic criticality—a new assessment concept improving the evidence basis for CI protection

2021 ◽  
Vol 165 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip M. Kruse ◽  
Hanna C. Schmitt ◽  
Stefan Greiving
Keyword(s):  
Road Network ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Spatial Dimension ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
The Road ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Critical Facilities ◽  
Global Impacts ◽  
The Impact

AbstractWith high certainty, extreme weather events will intensify in their impact within the next 10 years due to climate change-induced increases in hazard probability of occurrence and simultaneous increases in socio-economic vulnerability. Data from previous mega-disasters show that losses from disruptions of critical services surpass the value of direct damages in the exposed areas because critical infrastructures [CI] are increasingly (inter-) dependent. Local events may have global impacts. Systemic criticality, which describes the relevance of a critical infrastructure due to its positioning within the system, needs to be addressed to reduce the likelihood of cascading effects. This paper presents novel approaches to operationalise and assess systemic criticality. Firstly, the paper introduces systemic cascade potential as a measurement of systemic criticality. It takes the relevance of a sector and the relevance of its interdependencies into account to generate a relative value of systemic importance for a CI sector. Secondly, an exemplary sectoral assessment of the road network allows reflecting the spatial manifestation of the first level of cascading effects. It analyses the impact of traffic interruptions on the accessibility of critical facilities to point out the systemically most critical segments of the municipal road network. To further operationalise the spatial dimension of criticality, a normative assertion determining the worthiness of protection of system components is required. A nationwide spatial flood protection plan incorporates this aspect in Germany for the first time. Its formal approval process was initiated in February 2020.

Reliability, Resilience and the Oncoming Wave of Retiring Baseload Units, Volume I: The Critical Role of Thermal Units During Extreme Weather Events

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Balash, PhD ◽  
Kenneth C. Kern ◽  
John Brewer ◽  
Justin Adder ◽  
Christopher Nichols ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Events
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