Baton Rouge Post-Katrina: The Role of Critical Infrastructure Modeling in Promoting Resilience

Abstract

The events of Hurricane Katrina have become a textbook example of system failures at multiple and intersecting levels. One unexplored dimension of this tragedy is the role of infrastructure performance data and modeling studies in aiding stakeholders in understanding this and future crises in order to promote resilience. This article presents results from a comparative validation study of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sponsored Critical Infrastructure Protection Decision Support System (CIPDSS) to offer an interdisciplinary and systems-level understanding of resilience. Our analysis of Baton Rouge critical infrastructures response to one of the largest population displacements recorded in U.S. history highlights the importance of integrating engineering systems and policy approaches with critical infrastructure protection, planning, and capacity building. By using infrastructure performance data we were able to address which systems in Baton Rouge proved resilient and why and determine recommendations for effective planning to increase critical infrastructure resilience.