On Friday, January 29th, CAIT hosted UTC partner Dr. Gustavo Pacheco-Crosetti for a seminar presentation on his work to date studying the damages from Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico in order to improve future infrastructure resilience. Watch the recording of his seminar below.
Hurricane Maria left devastating effects on Puerto Rico, its people, and its economy when the storm struck in 2017. The damage has been totaled at $90 billion by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Coastal Management, much of which impacted the island’s transportation systems. Following the storm, CAIT-affiliated researchers at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (PUPR) have been studying the damage, examining vital transportation infrastructure that failed during the storm, and developing resources to make local transportation infrastructure more resilient and better prepared for future natural disasters and extreme weather events.
In this webinar, CAIT-affiliated researcher Dr. Gustavo Pacheco-Crosetti provided an overview of the damage done to the island by Hurricane Maria as well as its long-term impacts to date. He also discussed latest research from PUPR quantifying this damage and case studies of traffic signs, vehicular bridges, and other important pieces of infrastructure that were studied. These insights have the potential help engineers to better incorporate resilience into construction projects and asset management practices considering natural disasters and storm events.
