Strengthening Infrastructure Resilience to Hurricanes by Modeling Transportation and Electric Power Network Interdependencies

Abstract

Community resilience is significantly affected by infrastructure disruptions during hurricanes. Resilience is generally defined as the ability of a system to manage shocks and return to a normal state in response to an extreme event. Due to the interconnected and interdependent relationships among infrastructure systems, the restoration process of a system is further delayed when other systems are disrupted. This study presents an agent-based model (ABM) developed to simulate the resilience of infrastructures to hurricanes, focusing on the interdependencies between electric power and transportation networks. To study infrastructure resilience to a hurricane, a library of agents has been created including electric power networks, transportation networks, wind/flooding hazards, and household agents. The ABM is applied to the households in ZIP Code 33147 of Miami-Dade County, Florida, and the infrastructures supporting these households. Interdependencies between the two networks are modeled in two ways, representing the (1) role of transportation in fuel delivery to power plants and restoration teams’ access to failed power system components and the (2) impact of power outage on transportation network components. We simulate three restoration strategies: component-based, distance-based, and traffic light-based restoration. The model is validated against Hurricane Irma data, showing consistent behavior with varying hazard intensities. Scenario analyses reveal the impact of restoration strategies, road accessibility, and wind speed on power service restoration. Results demonstrate that a traffic-light-based restoration strategy efficiently prioritizes signal recovery without delaying household power restoration time. Restoration of power services will be faster if fuel transportation to power plants and restoration efforts are not delayed by inaccessible roads due to flooding. The developed ABM can be used as a decision support tool by policymakers and utility/emergency managers in evaluating power outage restoration strategies using available resources.