Washington, D.C. – When natural disasters strike, a community’s ability to respond and recover can hinge on the resilience of its lifeline infrastructure. After the deadly Hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated huge swaths of the country, a group of lawmakers are calling upon the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop long-overdue standards for lifeline infrastructure.
Natural hazards can “disable power, water, communications, liquid fuel and gas, and transportation services – referred to collectively as lifeline infrastructure. The loss of lifelines harms local economies, threatens human health, and compounds the challenges faced by communities as they recover,” wrote the lawmakers, led by Rep. Kevin Mullin (CA-15) in a letter to NIST. “During Hurricane Helene, roads and bridges were destroyed, over 4 million customers were left without power, and many also lost cell and internet service and access to clean water.”
NIST has taken a leading role in developing standards that help communities become more resilient to natural disasters including earthquakes, floods and wildfires. But much of these efforts have focused on the restoration of buildings and do not address lifeline infrastructure systems.
“Currently, there are no national guidelines for lifeline system performance, and those developed at the state and local levels often do not account for resilience or the interdependency between systems. This impedes efforts by communities and first responders to accurately predict and plan for lifeline service loss. Given this reality, we urge NIST to develop national, cross-sector, multi-hazard design guidelines for lifeline infrastructure, which would include model codes, resilience metrics, and performance goals,” the lawmakers wrote.
Communities are facing increased risks from natural disasters. Proactively investing in mitigation is crucial: for every dollar spent on prevention, communities save an estimated $6 in disaster response.
Rep. Mullin, whose California district is all too familiar with earthquakes, has also introduced legislation, the Earthquake Resilience Act, that would require NIST to develop guidelines for lifeline infrastructure resilience and restoration after an earthquake hits.
The letter was cosigned by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1), Rep. Ed Case (HI-1), Rep. André Carson (IN-7) and Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-4). Read the full letter here.
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