Enhancing the Resilience of Communities Against Extreme Events From an Earthquake Engineering Perspective

• NCJ Number: 217954
• Journal: Journal of Security Education Volume: 1 Issue: 4 Dated: 2006 Pages: 159-167
• Author(s): Michael Bruneau
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 9 pages
• Grant Number(s): EEC-9701471; DTFH61-98-C-00094
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Transportation; National Science Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Theoretical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The general disaster-resilience concept presented in this paper was developed in the field of earthquake engineering, but is applicable to any type of disaster.

Abstract

A "resilient system" shows reduced failure probabilities; reduced consequences from failure in terms of lives lost, damage, and adverse economic and social harms; and reduced time to restore a system to its normal performance level. The measurement of resilience for various infrastructure systems in a region or community is helpful in setting investment priorities. In order to facilitate such measurement, research is being conducted for the purpose of developing instruments that can measure the resilience of specific infrastructures based on engineering data for the infrastructure. This paper provides some examples of pre-event technologies that have been developed for the measurement of resilience pertinent to multiple disasters. They include software for the earthquake risk analysis of highway systems, a method of comparing and contrasting the effects of natural and man-made disasters, and advanced technologies that are being developed to retrofit existing structural and nonstructural systems for resilience from earthquakes. The paper also presents examples of post-event technologies applicable to multiple disasters. These include remote sensing for damage assessment and empirically based recovery decision support tools. The author then discusses a strategy for multihazard integration. He advises that the opportunities created by the similarities in the preparedness, response, and recovery needs for a variety of hazards provide a framework to guide research for a broad range of disaster types. Multihazard approaches may provide the framework needed for a broader nationwide implementation of strategies that enhance resilience against any specific disaster. A schematic shows the link between various types of disasters, the affected infrastructure, and the type of technologies that can improve resilience for an infrastructure. 2 figures and 11 references