In the previous section we learned about how critical infrastructure supported the basic societal functions that every community provides to its citizens and examined how dependencies could impact those systems. This section suggests how dependency considerations and resilience concepts can be incorporated into planning at the local and regional level reducing consequences and speeding recovery from hazard events.
Infrastructure is the backbone of communities, regions, and the nation, providing not only critical services, but also the means for economic growth and the delivery of key products and services. Given their vital significance, it is important to ensure that infrastructure systems are resilient.
What does it mean to be resilient?
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Resilience is the ability to prepare for and adapt to changing conditions and withstand and recover rapidly from disruptions. Resilience includes the ability to withstand and recover from deliberate attacks, accidents, or naturally occurring threats or incidents. [Presidential Policy Directive 21]
Hazards to Consider
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These hazards and changing conditions can have short-term impacts like injuries and loss of life, property damage, and degraded quality of life as well as long-term impacts such as business closures, population loss, and reduced tax base.