Vulnerability of transport infrastructure to extreme weather events in small rural catchments

Across the Mediterranean region, extreme weather events (EWE), such as high-intensity storms causing flooding in small river basins, are one of the most common types of hydrometeorological hazards. Flooding has been associated with severe effects on road networks and a significant number of vehicle-...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Michalis Diakakis, Efthymis Lekkas, Iraklis Stamos, Evangelos Mitsakis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: TU Delft OPEN Publishing 2016-01-01
Series:European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
Online Access:https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/ejtir/article/view/3117
_version_ 1797429273309478912
author Michalis Diakakis
Efthymis Lekkas
Iraklis Stamos
Evangelos Mitsakis
author_facet Michalis Diakakis
Efthymis Lekkas
Iraklis Stamos
Evangelos Mitsakis
author_sort Michalis Diakakis
collection DOAJ
description Across the Mediterranean region, extreme weather events (EWE), such as high-intensity storms causing flooding in small river basins, are one of the most common types of hydrometeorological hazards. Flooding has been associated with severe effects on road networks and a significant number of vehicle-related fatalities, raising concerns regarding the performance of transportation infrastructure during EWEs. Given the expected increase in frequency of such events within the context of climate change, an assessment of its vulnerability is particularly crucial. The work presented herein evaluates the performance of transportation infrastructure during high-intensity storms. This research focuses on small rural catchments, examining the impact of five extreme storm events in five rural basins in Greece. Post-flood surveys were conducted, to record the impact of inundation on each infrastructure element in the five catchments. Overall, findings showed that road infrastructure, especially river crossings, performed poorly, restricting access to large areas during and after the events, affecting the safety of commuters and sustaining extensive damages. On average, it was found that 73% of the river crossings and 11.5% of the total length of the road network were inundated or damaged, while a total of 12 individuals died during the events. The results revealed that the impact of flooding in the transportation infrastructure of small rural basins was severe and a threat to human life. The findings of this study indicate that authorities should consider taking measures during EWEs, reexamine the safety features of the relevant infrastructure and assess the risk related to its failure.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T09:10:48Z
format Article
id doaj.art-38e83068970b474587ea0ce8bea1ec70
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1567-7141
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T09:10:48Z
publishDate 2016-01-01
publisher TU Delft OPEN Publishing
record_format Article
series European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
spelling doaj.art-38e83068970b474587ea0ce8bea1ec702023-12-02T08:32:55ZengTU Delft OPEN PublishingEuropean Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research1567-71412016-01-0116110.18757/ejtir.2016.16.1.31172729Vulnerability of transport infrastructure to extreme weather events in small rural catchmentsMichalis Diakakis0Efthymis Lekkas1Iraklis Stamos2Evangelos Mitsakis3National and Kapodistrian University of AthensNational and Kapodistrian University of AthensHellenic Institute of TransportHellenic Institute of TransportAcross the Mediterranean region, extreme weather events (EWE), such as high-intensity storms causing flooding in small river basins, are one of the most common types of hydrometeorological hazards. Flooding has been associated with severe effects on road networks and a significant number of vehicle-related fatalities, raising concerns regarding the performance of transportation infrastructure during EWEs. Given the expected increase in frequency of such events within the context of climate change, an assessment of its vulnerability is particularly crucial. The work presented herein evaluates the performance of transportation infrastructure during high-intensity storms. This research focuses on small rural catchments, examining the impact of five extreme storm events in five rural basins in Greece. Post-flood surveys were conducted, to record the impact of inundation on each infrastructure element in the five catchments. Overall, findings showed that road infrastructure, especially river crossings, performed poorly, restricting access to large areas during and after the events, affecting the safety of commuters and sustaining extensive damages. On average, it was found that 73% of the river crossings and 11.5% of the total length of the road network were inundated or damaged, while a total of 12 individuals died during the events. The results revealed that the impact of flooding in the transportation infrastructure of small rural basins was severe and a threat to human life. The findings of this study indicate that authorities should consider taking measures during EWEs, reexamine the safety features of the relevant infrastructure and assess the risk related to its failure.https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/ejtir/article/view/3117
spellingShingle Michalis Diakakis
Efthymis Lekkas
Iraklis Stamos
Evangelos Mitsakis
Vulnerability of transport infrastructure to extreme weather events in small rural catchments
European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
title Vulnerability of transport infrastructure to extreme weather events in small rural catchments
title_full Vulnerability of transport infrastructure to extreme weather events in small rural catchments
title_fullStr Vulnerability of transport infrastructure to extreme weather events in small rural catchments
title_full_unstemmed Vulnerability of transport infrastructure to extreme weather events in small rural catchments
title_short Vulnerability of transport infrastructure to extreme weather events in small rural catchments
title_sort vulnerability of transport infrastructure to extreme weather events in small rural catchments
url https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/ejtir/article/view/3117
work_keys_str_mv AT michalisdiakakis vulnerabilityoftransportinfrastructuretoextremeweathereventsinsmallruralcatchments
AT efthymislekkas vulnerabilityoftransportinfrastructuretoextremeweathereventsinsmallruralcatchments
AT iraklisstamos vulnerabilityoftransportinfrastructuretoextremeweathereventsinsmallruralcatchments
AT evangelosmitsakis vulnerabilityoftransportinfrastructuretoextremeweathereventsinsmallruralcatchments