Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Framework for modeling urban restoration resilience time in the aftermath of an extreme event

August 1, 2015

The impacts of extreme events continue long after the emergency response has terminated. Effective reconstruction of supply-chain strategic infrastructure (SCSI) elements is essential for postevent recovery and the reconnectivity of a region with the outside. This study uses an interdisciplinary approach to develop a comprehensive framework to model resilience time. The framework is tested by comparing resilience time results for a simulated EF-5 tornado with ground truth data from the tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011. Data for the simulated tornado were derived for Overland Park, Johnson County, Kansas, in the greater Kansas City, Missouri, area. Given the simulated tornado, a combinatorial graph considering the damages in terms of interconnectivity between different SCSI elements is derived. Reconstruction in the aftermath of the simulated tornado is optimized using the proposed framework to promote a rapid recovery of the SCSI. This research shows promising results when compared with the independent quantifiable data obtained from Joplin, Missouri, returning a resilience time of 22 days compared with 25 days reported by city and state officials.

Publication Year 2015
Title Framework for modeling urban restoration resilience time in the aftermath of an extreme event
DOI 10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000184
Authors Varun Ramachandran, Suzanna K. Long, Thomas G. Shoberg, Steven Corns, Héctor Carlo
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Natural Hazards Review
Index ID 70155927
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization NGTOC Rolla