Too Big to Fail? The Spatial Vulnerability of the Chinese Infrastructure System to Flooding Risks

Analysis of vulnerability to climate-related hazards, such as flooding, typically starts with the distribution of people and economic assets in flood-prone locations. However, this approach provides limited information about the severity of disruption that may be caused in extreme and disastrous events, as it does not fully account for the economic and social dependence on vulnerable assets. Infrastructure assets are particularly significant in this regard because of the very high social and economic dependence on these systems, which can extend far outside the hazard zone. In this paper, the authors demonstrate a methodology that is capable of understanding this spatial aspect of the vulnerability for the Chinese infrastructure system to flooding impacts on both a broad and local scale. The authors apply the methodology to the rail and electricity sectors. The results show the locations of critical infrastructure that are exposed to risk of flooding on a broad scale. The authors are also able to calculate the potential number of customers affected - should infrastructure assets fail owing to one or a series of flooding event(s) - on a local scale. Interestingly, the results show that the critical infrastructure in these sectors is not exposed to high flooding risks; however, climate change may increase the frequency of flooding events in these locations and planners should at least investigate the flood defense structures in these areas.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784413609.072
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780784413609
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  1801 Alexander Bell Drive
  Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400
• Authors:
  • Hu, Xi
  • Hall, Jim
  • Thacker, Scott
• Conference:
  • Second International Conference on Vulnerability and Risk Analysis and Management (ICVRAM) and the Sixth International Symposium on Uncertainty, Modeling, and Analysis (ISUMA)
  • Location: Liverpool , United Kingdom
  • Date: 2014-7-13 to 2014-7-16
• Publication Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Pagination: pp 704-714
• Monograph Title: Vulnerability, Uncertainty, and Risk: Quantification, Mitigation, and Management

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Disaster preparedness; Disasters; Electric power transmission facilities; Floods; Infrastructure; Railroad transportation; Risk assessment; Risk management; Service disruption
• Uncontrolled Terms: Critical infrastructure; Disruptions
• Geographic Terms: China
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Security and Emergencies; Transportation (General); I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01532714
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780784413609
• Files: TRIS, ASCE
• Created Date: Aug 4 2014 6:46PM