About our Sessions

This presentation will provide an approach to assessing and evaluating the impact of 16 natural hazards and 13 manmade threats to utilities and infrastructure. The hazards will range from commonplace problems like tornados and ice storms to regional and nuclear wars. The methodology will include estimating the probability of a given hazard occurring and the impact of the specific hazard on utility and infrastructure operations. Equally important is determination of the problem posed by the threat, i.e. equipment destruction, supply chain issues, or labor shortages, etc. For a hypothetical situation the hazards will be ranked to provide perspective on the relative importance and significance of the individual hazards.

Given perspective on the risks provided by the differing threats, two methods will be presented to allow the leadership to develop a program to cope with the risks involved. One of the goals is to provide proactive tools to manage time and monies so the benefits of the program can be maximized. An equally important part of the work is for utility management to have tools available to recognize the difference between actual and perceived risks posed by various threats. Then issues can be communicated to elected officials and the public in a knowledgeable manner. By working proactively to address the threats presented by various hazards Texas will be better prepared to grasp the impacts of the threats and to raise the state-wide grade of emergency/risk management.