SUMMARYWe study the seismic vulnerability of the interdependent European gas and electricity transmission networks from a topological point of view, whereby the electricity network depends on the gas network through gas-fired power plants. First, we assessed the seismic response for each independent network; then we analyzed the increased vulnerability due to their interdependency. We implemented a probabilistic reliability model that encompasses the spatial distribution of both network structures and their seismic hazard exposure using a Geographic Information System. We characterized the network interdependency using the strength of coupling of the interconnections, together with the seismic response of the independent-gas-network. We calculated the network fragility curves of the independent and dependent networks in terms of various performance measures (connectivity loss, power loss, and impact on the population) and found that the gas network is more seismically vulnerable than the electricity network. The interdependency introduces an extra vulnerability to the electricity network response that decreases with the extensiveness of the networks' damage states. Damage was also evaluated at a local level in order to identify the most vulnerable parts of the network, where it was found that the potential for the highest power loss is located in southeast Europe.

We analyze networks generated by the recurrence plots of the time series of chaotic systems and study their properties, evolution and robustness against several types of attacks. Evolving recurrence networks obtained from chaotic systems display interesting features from the point of view of robustness (in particular, those related to their connectivity), which could help in the design of systems with high capability and robustness for information diffusion. The approach is extended to cases where the equations of the chaotic system are not given (but are defined by their time series) using state-space reconstruction methods and we note that the general characteristics of the attractors generated by such systems are maintained under this transformation. A comparison with well-known complex network models is performed to illustrate the differences and similarities.

ABSTRACT:The recently adopted 'Sendai Framework for Action on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030' sets the goals to reduce loss of life, livelihood and critical infrastructure through enhanced national planning and international cooperation. The new Framework is expected to enhance global, regional and national efforts for building resilience to disasters, across the entire disaster management cycle (prevention, preparedness, response and early recovery). Improved monitoring and accountability frameworks, relying on harmonized disaster loss data will be required for meeting the targets and for capturing the levels of progress across different scales of governance. To overcome the problems of heterogeneous disaster data and terminologies, guidelines for reporting disaster damage and losses in a structured manner will be necessary to help national and regional bodies compile this information. In the European Union, the Member States and the European Commission worked together on the establishment of guidelines for recording and sharing disaster damage and loss data as a first step towards the development of operational indicators to translate the Sendai Framework into action. This paper describes the progress to date in setting a common framework for recording disaster damage and loss data in the European Union and identifies the challenges ahead.

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