Risk & Vulnerability Assessment on Water Treatment Infrastructure against Natural Hazards in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Objective To establish a risk and vulnerability methodology for the proper evaluation of the possible damage that multiple natural hazards may have on different infrastructures, such as drinking water infrastructure, of a given study region And use the methodology to identify the most vulnerable facilities, that may require special maintenance and/or retrofit to avoid failure due to extreme natural events Research Methodology 4) Description of the Hazards 5) Identification of Possible Assets at Risk Abdiel Lugo Montes 1 , Dr. Gustavo Pacheco Crosetti 2 6) Hazus Simulation to Analyze Risks 7) Summarize Vulnerability 8) Evaluation of Mitigation Options Introduction and Risk Analysis Software This research focused on the use of FEMA’s Hazus Multi Hazard GIS modeling software for the performance of a risk and vulnerability assessment on drinking water treatment plants in Puerto Rico against natural hazards Earthquake simulation by the software provided damage estimates for the water treatment plants closest to the epicenter Based on the damage percentages provided by the software, an identification of the most vulnerable potable water treatment facility was accomplished The limitation for the usage of only earthquake and tsunami hazards for the island of Puerto Rico, and the complex workings of the software, limits its potential usage for risk and vulnerability assessments in the future With the proper development for the application of multiple hazards and the update to the default databases for Puerto Rico by the FEMA Hazus team, multiple risk and vulnerability assessments may be accomplished for different structures and for different natural hazards