The following post is a summary of the technical paper entitled “Determining Critical Cascading Effects of Flooding Events on Transportation Infrastructure Using Data Mining Algorithms,” authored by Rayan H. Assaad, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE, Mohsen Mohammadi, S.M.ASCE, and Ghiwa Assaf, S.M.ASCE and published in the quarterly American Society of Civil Engineers Journal of Infrastructure Systems, Volume 30, Issue 3.
Flood events can significantly affect the performance and operation of transportation infrastructure, leading to considerable disruptions in the flow of goods and services. While numerous studies investigated the direct impacts of floods on transportation infrastructure, the indirect impacts, or cascading effects, receive limited attention.
Therefore, this paper uses data mining algorithms to explore the cascading effects of floods on transportation infrastructure. Initially, the study identified 33 impacts of flood events on transportation infrastructure using data from various flood events in New York and New Jersey. Subsequently, an association rule mining analysis was conducted to pinpoint key co-occurrences between flooding and multiple events.
Next, network analysis was employed to quantify the co-occurrences or key combinations among these events. Finally, cluster analysis was applied to group or prioritize the cascading effects and co-occurring events into highly connected clusters, identifying the most critical ones based on two scenarios:
- Without consideration of co-occurrences (Scenario 1); and,
- With consideration of co-occurrences (Scenario 2).
The findings revealed that while specific cascading impacts may be individually significant or frequent (Scenario 1), others emerge due to combinations of different effects that may not appear critical when viewed individually but become crucial when combined with other cascading events (Scenario 2).
This paper highlights the importance of considering co-occurrences between events and cascading effects. In summary, the study contributes to existing knowledge by providing an analytical approach to identify and prioritize critical cascading impacts of flood events on the operations and performance of transportation infrastructures.
The Journal of Infrastructure Systems publishes cross-disciplinary papers about managing, sustaining, enhancing, and transforming civil infrastructure systems. Papers contribute new knowledge by developing, applying, or implementing innovative methodologies or technologies.
(Source: ASCE Library)
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