Buying electricity resilience: using backup generator sales in the United States to understand the role of the private market in resilience

Disruptions to key lifelines, especially electrical power, can cause outsized impacts on human functioning. The state of the art on developed countries has focused on enhancing resilience to electrical grid infrastructure but has neglected to track changes regarding how the private market has developed electricity continuity measures over time. Backup generators are among the most accessible tools to maintain electricity continuity in case of power failure, but their role as a buffer remains understudied outside the technical domain, along with the humanitarian and emergency response sectors. This paper analyzes generator sales across the U.S. to understand some underlying trends that may have influenced changes in consumer preference for electricity resilience. Reports from major backup generator sellers and import data of backup generators reveal an increase in backup generators across the U.S. and find that private demand for energy resilience is likely increasing due to consumers’ perceived risk and rising levels of intolerance to power disruptions. The discussion finds that an increase in private demand and use of backup generators may be impacting electricity resilience at a communal and societal level, which seems to be underexamined by studies focusing on private generator usage in the U.S.

How critical infrastructure orients international relief in cascading disasters

Critical infrastructure and facilities are central assets in modern societies, but their impact on international disaster relief remains mostly associated with logistics challenges. The emerging literature on cascading disasters suggests the need to integrate the non-linearity of events in the analyses. This article investigates three case studies: the 2002 floods in the Czech Republic, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima meltdown in Japan. We explore how the failure of critical infrastructure can orient international disaster relief by shifting its priorities during the response. We argue that critical infrastructure can influence aid request and delivery, changing needs to address the cascades and contain cascading technology-based events. The conclusions propose remaining challenges with applying our findings

Critical infrastructure, panarchies and the vulnerability paths of cascading disasters

Cascading effects and cascading disasters are emerging fields of scientific research. The widespread diffusion of functional networks increases the complexity of interdependent systems and their vulnerability to large-scale disruptions. Although in recent years studies of interconnections and chain effects have improved significantly, cascading phenomena are often associated with the ‘‘toppling domino metaphor’’, or with high-impact, low-probability events. This paper aimed to support a paradigm shift in the state of the art by proposing a new theoretical approach to cascading events in terms of their root causes and lack of predictability. By means of interdisciplinary theory building, we demonstrate how cascades reflect the ways in which panarchies collapse. We suggest that the vulnerability of critical infrastructure may orientate the progress of events in relation to society’s feedback loops, rather than merely being an effect of natural triggers. Our conclusions point to a paradigm shift in the preparedness phase that could include escalation points and social nodes, but that also reveals a brand new field of research for disaster scholars

Cascading Events, Technology and the Floods Directive: future challenges

Cascading events can be referred to multidimensional disasters, where a primary trigger generates a nonlinear series of secondary emergencies that escalate in time, becoming eventually the priority to tackle. In this process, critical infrastructure can be handled as roots of vulnerabilities, because they accumulate both physical attributes and functional nodes. When compromised, they produce widespread breakdowns of society, but also orient emergency responses and long-term recovery. Although floods have been widely associated to the failure of vulnerable equipments or to the disruption of strategic sectors such as energy, communication and transportation, their integration with the emerging concept of cascading has been limited. This open topic presents many challenges for scholars, researchers and practitioners, in particular when the implementation of the EU Floods Directive is considered. The paper presents an overview of the Floods Directive and its relation with the cascading events, using case studies and examples from the existing literature to point out missing links and gaps in the legislation. Conclusions argue that the Directive considers only local geographical scales and limited temporal horizons, which can be result inadequate to limit the escalation of events

Emergency infrastructure and facilities.

This edition of Critical Infrastructure presents a culmination of ongoing research and real-work experience, building upon previous editions

A Review of the Technical and Socio-Organizational Components of Earthquake Early Warning Systems

Every year, natural hazards affect millions of people around the world, causing significant economic and life losses. The rapid progress of technology and advances in understanding of the highly complex physical phenomena related to various natural hazards have promoted the development of new disaster-mitigation tools, such as earthquake early warning (EEW) systems. However, there is a general lack of integration between the multi- and cross-disciplinary elements of EEW, limiting its effectiveness and applications for end users. This paper reviews the current state-of-the-art in EEW, exploring both the technical components (i.e., seismological and engineering) as well as the socio-organizational components (i.e., social science, policy, and management) of EEW systems. This includes a discussion of specific evidence from case studies of Italy, United States’ West Coast, Japan, and Mexico, where EEW systems have reached varying levels of maturity. Our aim is to highlight necessary improvements for increasing the effectiveness of the technical aspects of EEW in terms of their implications on operational, political/legal, social, behavioral, and organizational drivers. Our analysis suggests open areas for research, associated with: 1) the information that needs to be included in EEW alerts to implement successful mitigation actions at both individual and organizational levels; 2) the need for response training to the community by official bodies, such as civil protection; 3) existing gaps in the attribution of accountability and development of liability policies involving EEW implementation; 4) the potential for EEW to increase seismic resilience of critical infrastructure and lifelines; 5) the need for strong organizational links with first responders and official EEW bodies; and 6) the lack of engineering-related (i.e., risk and resilience) metrics currently used to support decision making related to the triggering of alerts by various end users

Understanding and mitigating cascading crises in the global interconnected system

Cascading crises and disasters in the global interconnected system are emerging topics in today's disaster risk reduction research. The primary objective is improving the capability of our societies to cope with such events and mitigate their detrimental consequences through an evolved understanding of their nature. Rather than being merely considered as an outcome of low-probability/high-impact processes, cascading events can be associated with the cross-scale accumulation of vulnerability paths constituted by events waiting to happen. In this context, instead of focusing solely on triggering events, it seems important to point out the interactions orienting the escalation of secondary emergencies through vulnerability paths. This special issue integrates those emerging aspects with an operational approach that considers cascades as the complex, non-linear escalation of secondary emergencies. Key topics addressed by the contributions include: cross-domain modelling of interdependent systems; decision support systems; economic impact assessment of critical events; and cascades in the built environment, in social domains, and in applied emergency management. Our conclusions support the work of academia, and of public and private stakeholders, by providing a comprehensive analysis of the topic for the improvement of theory, the assessment of resilience, the formulation of policies for managing crises, and operational planning for emergencies

Managing systemic risk in emergency management, organizational resilience and climate change adaptation: a science-policy roadmap

In urban systems, major risks need to be managed by bringing together emergency management, organisational resilience and climate change adaptation. In this endeavour, policy making must make use of disaster science. This chapter applies the theory of cascading, interconnected and compound risk to the practice of preparing for, managing and responding to threats and hazards. This methodology is illustrated with an example from the United Kingdom, namely the work of the Greater London Authority and its partner organisations. London has long been a champion of resilience strategies for dealing with systemic risk. The chapter investigates the potential and limitations of this approach. There remains a need to identify common points of failure, especially where they relate to interconnected domains and where they are driven by climate change. Radical new thinking is required in order to ensure operational continuity in the face of growing systemic risk