Title: The influence of infrastructure interdependencies on post-disaster recovery
Abstract: Management of critical infrastructure during post-disaster recovery needs to be underpinned by a holistic recognition that the recovery of infrastructure can be affected by the interdependencies that exist between different systems. A fundamental characteristic of these interdependencies is that failure of one infrastructure can result in the failure of other interdependent infrastructures, leading to a cascade of failures. Through an exploratory study and a case study approach, this research provides an understanding on elements of infrastructures interdependencies that have the potential to impede the post-disaster recovery. The research revealed how the types of interdependencies have the potential to induce cascading and escalating failures and how the degrees of interdependencies can dictate the propagation of failures across infrastructures. The proposed theoretical framework provides practical guidance in prioritizing the recovery of interdependent infrastructures.