The influence of context on lifeline behavior: Local policies under wind storm and earthquake scenarios

Abstract

Local policies can play an important role in establishing a context that shapes vulnerability and influences subsequent recovery of lifelines under the natural hazards of extreme wind and seismic events. External factors, such as access availability, have long been known to influence the rate of restoration of utility systems following blackouts. Thus, since system performance takes place within a socio-technical-political context, it can be anticipated that selected local policies may also influence either the geographic extent of damage or the rate of restoration or both. This project empirically validates the assumption that selected local non-design policies establish a context that significantly (measurably) influences system functionality in terms of spatial extent and duration of outage.