Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability to Spatially Localized Failures with Applications to Chinese Railway System

Abstract

This article studies a general type of initiating events in critical infrastructures, called spatially localized failures (SLFs), which are defined as the failure of a set of infrastructure components distributed in a spatially localized area due to damage sustained, while other components outside the area do not directly fail. These failures can be regarded as a special type of intentional attack, such as bomb or explosive assault, or a generalized modeling of the impact of localized natural hazards on large-scale systems. This article introduces three SLFs models: node centered SLFs, district-based SLFs, and circle-shaped SLFs, and proposes a SLFs-induced vulnerability analysis method from three aspects: identification of critical locations, comparisons of infrastructure vulnerability to random failures, topologically localized failures and SLFs, and quantification of infrastructure information value. The proposed SLFs-induced vulnerability analysis method is finally applied to the Chinese railway system and can be also easily adapted to analyze other critical infrastructures for valuable protection suggestions.

Advances in Spatial Risk Analysis

“…The articles of Hu, Li, Guo, van Gelder, and Shi (), Avelino and Dall'ebra (), Ouyang, Tian, Wang, Hong, and Mao (), and Trakas () examine spatial impact assessment in interconnected systems. Hu et al.…”

“…The articles of Hu, Li, Guo, van Gelder, and Shi (2019), Avelino and Dall'ebra (2019), Ouyang, Tian, Wang, Hong, and Mao (2019), and Trakas (2019) examine spatial impact assessment in interconnected systems. Hu et al (2019) consider the effects of hazards in network systems, examining how local hazards can spread out through the network topology.…”

“…In a similar vein, Ouyang et al (2019) examine failures in networks that form critical infrastructures, specifically the Chinese railway system. Discussing the concept of a spatially localized failure, they consider infrastructure vulnerability failures at a given node.…”

A novel heuristic simulation‐optimization method for critical infrastructure in smart transportation systems

“…For example, water supply is required for nuclear and hydropower plants as well as for emergency services. Similarly, road networks are used directly or indirectly by almost every other type of critical infrastructure 1 . Interdependence is much more harmful in various cases such as unavoidable natural disasters affecting any one of these critical infrastructures.…”

“…According to Ouyang et al 1 vulnerabilities can be of three types: an unintentional attack, intentional attacks, and natural hazards. Unintentional attacks include human or animal errors, machine failure or malfunction, and so forth.…”