A multidisciplinary approach for risk analysis of infrastructure networks in response to extreme weather

Abstract

In recent years, it is becoming more frequent the occurrence of extreme weather events across Europe, such as rain induced landslides, river floods, winter storms and hurricanes. These hazards result in deterioration or fail of critical elements, and in the consequent disruption or disablement of the traffic networks. Therefore, developing tools and guidelines are mandatory to enhance safety and reliability of critical infrastructure networks, and address European policy in the areas of safety and security, intermodality and emergency response planning. With this goal, the European research project RAIN (Risk Analysis of Infrastructure Networks in response to extreme weather) presents a multidisciplinary approach, involving aspects as diverse as climatology, transportation, or sociology. The RAIN vision is to provide an operational analysis framework that identifies critical infrastructure components impacted by extreme weather events and minimise the impact of these events on the EU infrastructure network. The project focusses on land transport networks, and the energy and telecommunication systems to identify cascading and interrelated effects. Technical and logistic solutions are developed to minimise the impact of these extreme events, which include novel early warning systems, decision support tools and engineering solutions to ensure rapid reinstatement of the network. This paper presents an overview of the RAIN project including results and methods that can be applied globally to determine the impacts of increased extreme weather events.