The Role of Emergency Response in Risk Management of Cascading Events Caused by Natech Accidents

Causal analysis of technological accidents is essential to prevent similar future accidents or mitigate their consequences. Natural events may cause a unique type of technological scenarios involving the release of hazardous substances called the Natech accident (i.e., natural hazards triggering technological disasters). Natech accidents have attracted the attention of academic researchers, industrial practitioners, and policy makers due to their uncertain and complex nature, increasing occurrence, and severe consequences of major accidents scenarios if they happen. The increase in the number of natural events in the last decades in fact has led to a growing number of Natech accidents. Moreover, the magnitude of the accidents can escalate when it is triggered by a natural event. In fact, Natech accidents can be characterized by the possibility of multiple simultaneous failures (explosions, loss of containments, fires, etc.), the occurrence of cascading events (domino effect), and the disruption of utilities, safety systems, and lifelines.