Examining the Use of Hurricane Forecast Information for Interdependent Critical Infrastructure Systems in Florida Metropolitan Areas

Large metropolitan areas with multiethnic populations are facing heightened vulnerability to a wide range of disruptions from hurricanes. Along with the population increase, rapid urbanization results in a convergence of transportation, communication, and energy supply infrastructure, creating interdependencies that can exacerbate the risks from environmental hazards. This vulnerability can have cascading effects on interconnected natural, built, and social systems. Improved hurricane forecasting has been stressed as one of the proactive solutions in research because it might benefit end-users by reducing disaster risks and damage costs. However, previous studies about hurricane forecast utilization have mainly concentrated on the public and public officials, overlooking the perspectives of the private sector, which is the major provider of utility services. Furthermore, partnership across sectors has not received much attention in past critical infrastructure resilience research. To bridge these gaps, this study will conduct a comprehensive web survey that integrates the perspectives of both the public and private sectors in managing the emergency operations of critical infrastructure systems for hurricanes. In particular, this study will examine how well different types of hurricane forecast products are being adopted and used by infrastructure managers. The study will compare two metropolitan areas, Orlando and Miami, which represent inland and coastal regions, respectively. In addition, it is intended to understand the complex interdependencies between important infrastructure sectors and to what extent critical infrastructure managers are working to improve their capacity to better prepare, withstand, and recover from the impacts of future hurricanes. Results from the survey will also help provide invaluable insights on the potential utility for emergency preparedness and response of HurricaneRiskCalculator, a web app developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) that tailors hurricane wind information to individual user-defined locations.