Inclusive Resilience: evaluating earthquake risk in San Diego’s vulnerable communities

Natural disasters pose significant threats to coastal cities on the West Coast, like San Diego, which are susceptible to both earthquakes and coastal flooding. This research aims to create a detailed data inventory for San Diego, with particular emphasis on assessing the vulnerability of bridges, houses and understanding the cascading effects of damage to transportation infrastructure on recovery efforts and its socioeconomic impact. HAZUS-MH, a natural hazard loss estimation methodology developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in partnership with the National Institute of Building Sciences is a promising tool that facilitates the integration of various datasets and modeling capabilities, enabling a comprehensive analysis of disaster scenarios. The modeling of earthquake scenarios will consider factors such as ground motion, soil types, and building vulnerabilities. By conducting scenarios, the research will provide insights into the potential compound impacts of earthquakes and their socioeconomic effects, which are often overlooked but can be particularly devastating. To this end, a comprehensive data inventory for San Diego will be generated first, including geospatial information, building characteristics, infrastructure details, and environmental factors. The data inventory will serve as the foundation for creating realistic simulations of earthquakes. The focus will be given to the civil and transportation infrastructure, as bridges play a critical role in disaster resilience, being essential for maintaining connectivity and facilitating emergency response. Understanding how damage to transportation infrastructure affects recovery efforts is crucial for efficient resource allocation and rapid restoration of essential services. This comparative analysis provides insights into the impact of earthquakes on the socioeconomic situation of the population living in the area.