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Every structure is at risk during extreme events. Damage to critical systems, however, can affect the very survival of a community. Every decision involving hazard protection involves a trade off between benefits and available resources.
CELES targets those systems most critical to community survival, or those that have the biggest impact on human safety.
- such as existing structures -- particularly in the central and eastern part of the country.
Community lifelines necessary for human existence include
- utility services, such as water, wastewater, energy, and telecommunications
- transportation networks, such as roads, rail, ports, and airports
Lifelines represent about 22 percent of the built environment. Rapid restoration of lifelines after a disaster is a key factor in how quickly an affected community can recover.
(Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2000. Earthquake Hazard Mitigation Handbook.)
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Growing risk worldwide
The world’s population is becoming more concentrated in megacities. Many of these cities are in developing countries that have high earthquake, flood, and wind hazards.
By 2010, eight out of the world's 10 largest cities will be in the developing world; and, by 2030, 60 percent of the world’s people will live in cities.
(Center for Disease Control. 2004. Urban Health and Megacities - An Emerging Global Priority.)
Growing risk in United States
Risk in the United States is also growing.
- More people are living in earthquake, hurricane, tornado, and landslide areas.
- The built environment --public utilities, transportation systems, communications, and homes and office buildings is getting denser making the potential losses greater.
For example, rising losses in recent urban earthquakes such as Northridge and Kobe have shown that there is a widening gap between the risk and our vulnerability. That is, the threat posed by major earthquakes in most regions has outpaced our ability to mitigate the consequences to acceptable levels.
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI). 2003. Securing Society against Catastrophic Earthquake Loss: A Research and Outreach Plan in Earthquake Engineering. Oakland California.
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