After an earthquake or similar disaster, focus transitions from ensuring human safety to evaluating the community’s damages and strategizing for recovery. Older structures often do not comply with contemporary safety standards, placing them at a greater risk of suffering damage during seismic events. Unfortunately, recovery can be prolonged when older structures are involved, as they frequently lack modern safety implementations. But what if these structures could be improved?
In a recent research, Dr. Maria Koliou and her colleagues at Texas A&M University examined the potential benefits of enhancing older structures to bolster their resilience to earthquakes and other disasters, ultimately leading to quicker recovery periods for affected communities.
The researchers are utilizing agent-based modeling to assess a community’s needs in the aftermath of a seismic event. This modeling technique considers every characteristic within the community to accurately replicate its reaction to a disaster. The shorter the recovery period for a community, the greater its level of resilience.
Within this research, agent-based modeling enables scientists to study a diverse range of physical characteristics, such as buildings, elements of electrical networks, water and transportation infrastructures, and social frameworks like educational institutions, medical facilities, enterprises, and households. The model also incorporates individuals who live and work in the community, allowing for a comprehensive simulation.
“Through agent-based modeling, we can simulate the reactions and interactions among systems and people,” stated Koliou, an associate professor within the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M and a holder of the Zachry Career Development Professorship II. “Our ultimate goal is to analyze the recovery trajectory for various systems, such as educational institutions, businesses, and households, over time after a significant seismic occurrence.”
This research emphasizes the impact that enhancing residential structures would have on community resilience. However, similar upgrades could also be applied to schools, hospitals, and other commercial buildings to further improve emergency response times.
“In this investigation, we adopted a very generic method, where we upgraded based on building regulations, but it certainly isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution,” Koliou remarked. “As our standards have evolved over the years, we now possess new regulations and codes to fortify our structures through retrofitting.”
Researchers are advancing by merging agent-based models with digital twin models of communities. Digital twins enable researchers to conduct simulations and utilize real-time data updates during or immediately after a disaster.
“We can refresh newly available data and rerun our simulations for timeline trajectories,” Koliou noted. “By combining digital twins with agent-based models, we can achieve a thorough pre- and post-disaster assessment of a community’s response to various hazards.”
After an earthquake or other calamity, it is vital to comprehend how a community reacts to better prepare for a future crisis. Findings from this research and others can equip stakeholders and decision-makers with insights to develop enhanced responses to forthcoming hazards.
This initiative was supported by the Center for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning, a National Institute of Standards and Technology-endowed center for excellence. Former postdoctoral researcher Dr. Xu Han, former Ph.D. student Dr. Mohammad Aghababaei, and Ph.D. candidate Abdullah Braik contributed to this research from the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
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