Critical infrastructure, panarchies and the vulnerability paths of cascading disasters

Datos Bibliográficos

ID23315654
AutoresGianluca Pescaroli (0000-0003-3468-2970, Systemic Risk Centre, autor de correspondencia), Dagmar Alexander (0000-0001-6743-4549), David Alexander (0000-0003-1235-3658, Systemic Risk Centre)
Año2016
Volumen82
Número1
Páginas175-192
Fecha de publicación2016-05-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaNatural Hazards (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0921-030X • E-ISSN: 1573-0840
EditorialSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s11069-016-2186-3
OpenAlexW2261084531
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas78
Referencias citadas31

Cascading effects and cascading disasters are emerging fields of scientific research. The widespread diffusion of functional networks increases the complexity of interdependent systems and their vulnerability to large-scale disruptions. Although in recent years studies of interconnections and chain effects have improved significantly, cascading phenomena are often associated with the “toppling domino metaphor”, or with high-impact, low-probability events. This paper aimed to support a paradigm shift in the state of the art by proposing a new theoretical approach to cascading events in terms of their root causes and lack of predictability. By means of interdisciplinary theory building, we demonstrate how cascades reflect the ways in which panarchies collapse. We suggest that the vulnerability of critical infrastructure may orientate the progress of events in relation to society’s feedback loops, rather than merely being an effect of natural triggers. Our conclusions point to a paradigm shift in the preparedness phase that could include escalation points and social nodes, but that also reveals a brand new field of research for disaster scholars.

Computer security · Critical infrastructure · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Geography · Geotechnical engineering · Hydrogeology · Meteorology · Natural hazard · Psychological resilience · Vulnerability (computing) · Vulnerability assessment · Computer Science · Disaster Management and Resilience · Engineering · Environmental Science · Infrastructure Resilience and Vulnerability Analysis · Supply Chain Resilience and Risk Management