CORDIS - Forschungsergebnisse der EU
CORDIS

Integrated European Disaster Community Resilience

Final Report Summary - ICRED (Integrated European Disaster Community Resilience)

2.1 Project objectives

The project ICRED has defined a conceptual framework to quantify performance criteria and resilience of systems and has illustrated through demonstration case studies how resilience can be improved through system assessment and modification in both pre-event and post-event contexts.
The proposed framework can be applied to different hazards, but most of the demonstration case studies have focused on earthquake hazard. Different spatial and temporal scales have been considered in the application as well as the effect on interdependencies between infrastructures.
An initial beta version of the software has been developed, which is able to define the physical dimension of resilience mainly at the infrastructure level.

2.2 Description of the work performed

The following main results of the project have been accomplished:

• Definition of the Resilience framework and its dimensions;
• Quantification of resilience for the physical infrastructure dimension and the socio-economic dimension;
• Development of a beta version of the software to evaluate resilience at the community level;
• WebGIS and data repository design, development and scenario builder
• Development of app for smart phone which is able to collect damage information of structures right
after extreme event such as earthquakes. Damage Data are stored in GIS format;
• Development of several case studies at different scales related to different types of lifelines;
• Development of prevention and mitigation strategy to improve resilience of structures through
structural control techniques;
• Development of model taking in account interdependencies among different networks;


Finally, all the planned objectives for the project have been accomplished. It is important to stress that this is the result from the collaboration between the Politecnico di Torino and University at Buffalo and MCEER, who all contributed significantly with knowledge and expertise turning the project in a success.

2.3 Potential socio-economic impact of the project

Very shocking data have been reported by the United Nations and by the EM-DAT agency regarding the cost of natural disasters in the world. For instance, it has been estimated that in 2010 the cost of natural disaster was around €75000 million, while just one year before was around €26000 million, thus three times more.
This project is expected to have a profound impact on the society and economy and the developed software will be used for operational resilience assessment. The proposed framework will bring significant progress in improving the resilience of society to natural hazards.

The stakeholders on which the project will have an impact are the Emergency Authorities both National and European level, the research institutions working in post-disaster recovery and loss estimation.
Migrating project results to emergency authorities and organizations will speed up the development of new resilient communities; enhance their resilience and performance during extreme events. Since the European Society as a whole will ultimately benefit from the results of the project (in terms of increased community resilience) special measures are planned to reach the public.

At the international level, the project has developed a long-term collaboration and a mutually beneficial
cooperation:

• between Politecnico di Torino and the University of California Berkeley (USA) and PEER, The Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Institute;
• between Politecnico di Torino and University at Buffalo (SUNY, USA) and MCEER Center
(USA);
• between Politecnico di Torino and University of British Columbia (UBC, Canada) represented by
professor Stephanie Chang that is currently working in the School of Community and Regional
Planning.

It also creates synergies at European level, intensifying the existing cooperation with:
• Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH)
• ETH in Zurich;
• Denmark Technical University (DTU) in Denmark;
• National Technical University of Athens (NTUA);