The Influence of Random Parameters on the Emergency Infrastructure Inspection Scheduling

Abstract eng:
Infrastructure networks are vital for the well-being of modern societies; national and local economies depend on efficient and reliable networks that provide added value and competitive advantage to an area’s social and economic growth. The significance of infrastructure networks increases when natural disasters occur since restoration of community functions is highly dependent on the affected regions receiving adequate relief resources. Infrastructure networks are frequently characterized as the most important lifelines in cases of natural disasters; recent experience from around the World (hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, Southeastern Asia Tsunami, Loma Prieta and Northridge earthquakes and others) suggests that, following a natural disaster, infrastructure networks are expected to support relief operations, population evacuation, supply chains and the restoration of community activities. Infrastructure elements such as bridges, pavements, tunnels, water and sewage systems, and highway slopes are highly prone to damages caused by natural hazards, a result of possible poor construction or maintenance, of design inconsistencies or of the shear magnitude of the natural phenomena themselves. Rapid network degradation following these disasters can severely impact both short and long run operations resulting in increased fatalities, difficulties in population evacuation and the supply of clean water and food to the affected areas. Much of the state-of-the-art in this research area indicates that attention must be given to three important actions: (i) Failsafe design and construction of infrastructure facilities; (ii) Effective maintenance and management of the available facilities; and, (iii) Planning and preparing actions to deal with rapid reparation of infrastructure following the disasters. As can be expected, significant research has been undertaken in emergency response to either natural hazards or manmade disasters. Work has concentrated on the four main aspects of the process; mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Work on mitigation includes assessing seismic hazards, probabilistic damage projection, and simulation based DSS for integrating the emergency process. Research on preparedness, a particularly challenging area of network related problems, has mainly focused on preparing infrastructure networks for dealing with potential disasters and for accommodating evacuation needs. Response related work has evolved around two main research

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