By Doug Page
When Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was hit by a devastating flood in the summer of 2008, Purdue University researchers used the disaster to demonstrate a computer model that predicts how damage from such events would affect a city’s social and economic fabric.
The modeling tool, called the Disaster Impact Mitigation Support System or DIMSS, has the potential to help reduce the severity of impacts, manage the aftermath of catastrophe and fortify infrastructure against future disasters.
The system works for any type of disaster, including terror attack, that can damage the infrastructure, say its developers. DIMSS simulates how a disaster affects elements such as bridges, roads and municipal water and wastewater treatment services, along with vital economic and social components like employers, hospitals, schools and churches.
If we can identify in advance the most vulnerable elements of the critical infrastructure, then we can take proactive measures to reinforce them or at least find alternatives,” said Makarand Hastak, head of construction engineering and management and a professor of civil engineering at Purdue University.
DIMSS was created by Eun Ho Oh, a former Purdue doctoral student who is now a research specialist at the Korea Institute of Construction Technology in Seoul.
Hastak said identifying affected or vulnerable infrastructure will make it a little easier for governmental organizations to create mitigation plans and strategies that could help with disaster preparation and prevention, as well as response and recovery should a disaster happen.
The idea is that, using DIMSS modeling data, communities can target spending more appropriately to better prepare for disaster prevention and recovery. The tool can also be used while the disaster is unfolding to anticipate what will happen next, guiding decisions about where to evacuate and where to direct disaster relief. After the disaster is over, DIMSS can be used to assess economic and social impacts.
“Agencies can examine the conditions of the critical infrastructure to their own purposes before the occurrence of disasters and also improve the readiness of the main infrastructure facilities and services should a disaster occur,” Hastak said.
The researchers used the DIMSS prototype during the devastating 2008 floods in the Midwest. Cedar Rapids sustained the brunt of the disaster, which exceeded 500-year flood projections, blocking access to the city’s government center and overwhelming the Cedar River, a vital asset for industry, commerce and transportation.