The Geotechnical Industry has the Potential to Spearhead Functional Recovery

Resilience of Geosystems: Learning from Hurricane Sandy

Youssef Hashash, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of Illinois, recently spoke at the British Geotechnical Association’s Geo-Resilience 2023 conference on the topic of “Resilience of geosystems using functional recovery frameworks”. Hashash covered a number of interrelated topics that hit upon resiliency and functional recovery “on the other side of the pond”.

Resilience: What is it?

Hashash started his talk by discussing the concept of “resilience”. Resiliency refers to the ability of an individual or system to adapt, recover and bounce back from challenging or stressful situations. It involves being able to withstand adversity, cope with change, and maintain a positive outlook despite difficult circumstances.

Resiliency is not about avoiding problems or never experiencing setbacks. Resilience is about adaptability, recovery and development within the context of natural disasters, climate change, societal change and economic fluctuations.

Case Study: Hurricane Sandy

To illustrate his points, Hashash used Hurricane Sandy as a case study. Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy hit New York on 29 October 2012 causing widespread damage. In terms of losses, around 230 were killed, about US$65bn of property and business losses, and 8.5M homes and businesses were damaged.

Hashash highlighted the damage to urban infrastructure, which was primarily related to flood inundation. Subway stations, tunnels, parking garages and foundation excavations experienced widespread flooding. Little immediate structural damage, but service was significantly affected as the utilities and ventilation systems were severely damaged.

Post-Sandy projects faced important considerations about resiliency and how to build back. In coastal areas that had been deemed most vulnerable, Hashash mentioned that the best option was perhaps to “retreat”, as these types of events are expected to happen again, while elsewhere crucial structures were repaired as the vulnerability just had to be accepted.

The Importance of Adapting to Change

“A possible solution is to develop a risk-based adaptation strategy that includes cost-effective initial design and adaptation of capacity”, Hashash said. “So, this whole term of adaptation is going to be very important for us. We cannot anticipate all possible things that will happen in the future. And hence, as long as we’re able to adapt, adapt to change, we can do that.”

An adaptive design solution could be considered for areas like the Arctic, dealing with the thawing of the permafrost, which can cause major technical and geopolitical challenges. “Climate change can affect loading conditions, bearing capacity and compressibility for infrastructures in permafrost regions,” Hashash noted as part of his talk.

Conclusion

The devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy highlighted the importance of building infrastructure that can withstand adversity. Resiliency allows us to adapt and recover from challenging situations. Adapting to change is essential for the design and construction of our infrastructure, allowing us to make adjustments that are flexible and reactive to the actual conditions.

Editor Notes:

Resilience is an important topic that is receiving greater focus across the engineering community. It is essential that we learn from past disasters and take proactive measures to improve the resilience of our infrastructure. For more news and insights on the engineering industry, visit GPT News Room at gptnewsroom.com.

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