The 2004 hurricane season in Florida was particularly devastating. The aftermath of four major hurricanes provides an opportunity to compile case-history data on the role of interdependencies between utility and transportation lifelines.

The Disaster Risk Reduction Program of Virginia Tech, under contract to the American Lifeline Alliance (ALA) and with support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is conducting a study to document infrastructure interdependencies and impacts. The greater Orange County, Florida area will be the focus of the study. The county and surrounding area has been selected because of its major commercial and population center, infrastructure systems and system interdependencies, and damage suffered as a result of the 2004 hurricanes. The investigation will focus mainly on electric power and gas/oil pipeline systems, communications and transportation networks.

Detailed information will be sought on lifeline performance and what lessons were learned from these hurricane impacts that could be used to provide the basis for developing improved guidelines for mitigation and service restoration. Key personnel from utility and transportation systems will be interviewed by the study team to help identify interdependency issues that affected lifeline owners and operators ability to provide continued service to their customers. The study team will document lessons learned by utility and transportation owners and stakeholders from their hurricane experience.

A final study report will be prepared addressing the experiences of the affected organizations during the 2004 hurricane season. The report will address how interdependencies affected utility, transportation and communications operations and serviceability during and after hurricanes, document any lessons learned that will enhance an understanding of the role interdependencies play, and outline how plans and procedures can be implemented during and after future hurricanes to improve lifeline performance and reliability. The report will be available on the ALA Website after completion in the Fall 2005.