Plans & Programs Transportation Task Force

Earthquake Vulnerability of Transportation Systems in the Central United States

Transportation systems in the Central U.S. - including highways, bridges, railways, waterways, ports, and airports - are vulnerable to the effects of a damaging earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone. Furthermore, damages to transportation systems may extend to several states, which presents transportation officials in government and the private sector with unique problems and challenges.

In an effort to increase awareness of the earthquake risk in the Central U.S., and specifically the vulnerability of transportation systems, The U.S. Department of Transportation collaborated with the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium to prepare this monograph. The Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) is a nonprofit organization, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, that is dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries, damage to property and economic losses resulting from earthquakes occurring in the Central United States. Its members are the seven states that are most vulnerable to earthquakes in this region: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.

Emergency transportation planning is an important element in CUSEC's long-term plan to reduce the earthquake risk in the Central U.S. In this regard, the Consortium has worked closely with the U.S. Department of Transportation on several projects and training activities that address the vulnerability of transportation systems to a New Madrid earthquake, and measures that can be taken to advance mitigation, response and recovery planning. This monograph is a contribution towards this basic effort.

The full monograph is available here in Adobe Acrobat ".pdf" format.

If you don't have the Acrobat Reader for your browser, you can get it here. Just click on the icon to the right.

Transportation Issues Related to Earthquake Risk
in the Central United States
(Formation of the CUSEC State Transportation Task Force)

Overview

During the Twentieth century, the U.S. has witnessed an explosion in the growth of transportation systems - 90 percent of all travel is by the highway system. Air travel now accounts for 9 percent of passenger miles, and the remaining 1 percent is by rail, water, and local transit.

The nation's economy is inextricably tied to our transportation infrastructure. For perspective, in 1992, the U.S. Gross Domestic Product was over $6 trillion, of which $728 billion, or 12.1% was attributed to transportation demand. In addition, over 11 million employees support today's transportation systems.

The Central U.S. is a major transportation corridor whose infrastructure - roads, bridges, runways, port facilities, rail lines, tunnels - rests atop a landscape that is vulnerable to the effects of earthquakes, including ground shaking, slope failure, and liquefaction (quicksand effect from soil failure).

The consequences from a major earthquake would be substantial, estimated from $60 to $100 billion. Destruction to the transportation system would be a significant portion of those losses.

Consequences of System Failure (Earthquake or other Natural Disaster)

• Direct loss of life due to collapse or structural failure of bridges, overpasses, and roads.
  
  
• Indirect loss of life due to an inability to respond to secondary catastrophes, such as fires, due to road and bridge failure.
  
  
• Indirect loss of life due to an inability to provide adequate emergency medical aid.
  
  
• Release of hazardous materials with associated environmental impacts.
  
  
• Losses due to interruption of access to transportation mechanisms (e.g. export losses due to port damage, railroad loading facilities).
  
  
• Disruption of economic activity across the region and nation as well as in the communities directly affected.

Challenges and Opportunities to Reduce Vulnerability

• Vulnerability assessment
  -Using Hazus and individual state vulnerability surveys
  
  
• Awareness and education
  -capitalizing on existing research and lessons learned from disasters.
  
  
• Mitigation
  -developing design criteria and standards to guide efforts, and to provide minimum recommended levels of facility engineering design and construction practice.
  
  
• Response and recovery
  -developing a plan that addresses priorities and coordination issues.

CUSEC State Transportation Task Force

To address the complexity of regional transportation issues, the CUSEC State Transportation Task Force has been created. Established at a meeting of Department of Transportation representatives from CUSEC member states in June 2000, the task force will provide a regional framework for post-earthquake issues, as well as ongoing and future mitigation projects for roadways and bridges in the Central U.S. It will also foster greater interaction among end user groups with the CUSEC State Geologists, and other institutions associated with earthquake risk in the region.