Las infraestructuras críticas, más críticas en tiempos de crisis

Abstract

The dependency of society on the proper

functioning of critical infrastructures (CIs) has

been highlighted in recent natural disasters.

CIs set up complex and interconnected systems

and consequently a failure in one CI can spread

to other dependent sectors. This represents a

further complication in the response phase of a

crisis, increasing the impact of natural disasters

and seriously affecting the welfare of society.

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the

important role that CIs have on the propagation

of the impact of a crisis. For that reason,

a simulation model that represents the

propagation, among interdependent CIs, of

the effects of a storm on a region has been

developed. This simulation model has a

pedagogical purpose in which the effects of

applying different crisis management policies

can be simulated. This type of simulation

models can represent different crisis scenarios.

Therefore, simulation models can be used by

managers allowing them to identify good

practices and areas of improvement in face of

future events.