Storm damage: Homes which remain damaged after Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey six months ago. Experts point to a need for investment in resilient infrastructures due to hazards posed by extreme weather phenomena.

Cities can save billions of dollars by investing in resilience.

OVER the last 40 years, natural disasters have occurred more frequently and become more severe. The United Nations found that the number of major hazards and extreme weather phenomena in the first decade of the new millennium was doubled that of 1980 to 1989.

Such hazards incur huge sums of damages – about US$160bil (RM498bil) worldwide last year. Cities, with their dense populations, are particularly vulnerable to natural hazards. For example, Superstorm Sandy which hit the US Atlantic coast last October, inflicted damages of some US$50bil (RM155bil), mostly in New York City.

To show how cities can better protect themselves against natural disasters, German engineering and electronics conglomerate Siemens has teamed up with Regional Plan Association (RPA) and consulting firm Arup to prepare a study on resilient urban infrastructure. The report will be ready in mid-year but preliminary findings show technology to be a key component of resilient and efficient infrastructure protection.

“We can’t prevent natural disasters but with our knowledge and our technologies we can better protect our infrastructures. Particularly in difficult economic times, cities have to invest efficiently, while minimising risks and making them calculable. Resilient infrastructure is not an option but a must,” says Roland Busch, chief executive officer of Siemens infrastructure and cities sector, at the presentation of the initial findings in New York City last month.

The report shows that merely repairing damaged infrastructures will incur hefty costs. Investments in resilient solutions, on the other hand, not only protect against damage, but also make urban infrastructure more cost-efficient, energy-efficient and reliable.

Calculations of New York City’s power grid show that without protective measures, the repair costs of natural disasters like Sandy could reach up to US$3bil (RM9.3bil) over the next 20 years. However, investing the same amount in measures to protect against wind and flood and in technologies that make power grids more robust and smarter can reduce damage by up to US$2bil (RM6.2bil), while generating efficiency gains of about US$4bil (RM12.4bil) due to enhanced grid availability, stability and energy efficiency.

Busch cites the example of Co-op City in the Bronx, a residential development with 14,000 apartments which is independent of the power grid. As it has its own 40 megawatt power plant, it was not affected by the power cuts experienced by the rest of New York when Sandy hit.

Siemens has a broad portfolio for urban infrastructure that helps cities become more resilient and sustainable. Solutions like smart grids and software for rail automation, traffic management, evacuation management and building management systems contribute to minimising the impact of natural hazards primarily because intelligent automation of infrastructures can make systems more flexible and easier to control and coordinate.

Busch says an automated traffic system allows for greater utilisation of the existing transportation network as the smart system can reroute traffic in times of congestion, keeps passengers informed, gives priority for emergency vehicles and prevent accidents.

“You can take much more out of an existing infrastructure if you manage it, automate it and connect all information to a control centre as this will bring up traffic flow.”

Also, intelligent technology makes buildings and public spaces more efficient and secure by linking up different components such as surveillance, energy monitoring and building automation. Some benefits include early detection of fires, suspicious activity and intrusion, as well as swift evacuation during emergencies.

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