Full functionality and recovery assessment framework for a hospital subjected to a scenario earthquake event

Abstract Modeling the recovery process of a community’s infrastructure after the occurrence of extreme events is now at the forefront of research. Estimating post-disaster recovery of either single or multiple infrastructure in a community requires proper flow and interaction of information of the physical, economic and social components of the involved sectors. Understanding this recovery process is essential, particularly for critical infrastructure, such as a hospital, which is vital for a community’s well-being. In this study, the full seismic functionality and recovery process of a six-story hospital, located in Memphis, TN, is quantified and assessed using a comprehensive 3-D finite element model with soil-structure interaction. The hospital functionality assessment encompasses both the quantity and the quality of the hospitalization service. To account for hospital dependency on other infrastructure during the recovery process, a virtual community is assumed, and five additional lifelines are included in the analysis. The model accounts for limitation in resources within the community, expected economic return for each lifeline, and interdependencies between the different lifelines. The introduced framework is implemented using data gathered from historical earthquakes as well as assumed data as needed. Recoveries of the different lifelines are estimated using continuous Markov chain process, where the community resources are distributed among the different lifelines using dynamic optimization to either obtain the most economic return for the whole community or the fastest recovery of the hospital. In addition, the effect of including infrastrcture interdependence on the recovery of the hospital is evaluated. The results are further utilized to estimate the seismic resilience of the hospital.