InfoGram

August 30, 2001

NOTE: This InfoGram will be distributed weekly to provide members of the emergency services sector with news and information concerning the protection of their critical information systems. For further information please contact the U.S. Fire Administration's Critical Infrastructure Protection Information Center at (301) 447-1325 or email at usfacipc@fema.gov.

Vulnerable Water Supplies

Water supplies, a critical infrastructure in all municipalities, are particularly vulnerable to attacks from people (e.g., terrorists, juveniles), from nature (e.g., floods, drought), and from hazardous material accidents (e.g., biological, chemical). The precious supplies of water have been a "quintessential target," according to Peter Beering, a terrorism preparedness coordinator in Indianapolis and a national advisor on the subject. In a WaterTechOnline article, Mr. Beering stated "preparation is important and training programs should play a key role in safeguarding water supplies." He said it is very unfortunate that many in the utility industry believe threats against water supplies are "outside the scope of things they pay attention to." Mr. Beering continued that operators need to protect this critical infrastructure by taking aggressive steps to improve security. "It can be as simple as making sure tanks and access hatches are locked, or the vents in water reservoirs secured so that they cannot be opened." Pumping stations likewise must be adequately locked and inaccessible to avoid tampering or destruction. Municipal leaders need to ensure this happens as well as having plans in place regarding who to contact and what procedures will be followed in event of an emergency. Mr. Beering strongly urges the water industry to get more involved in protection and emergency planning.

Potentially Dangerous Tunnels

As reported in the New York Times, the New York Department of Transportation accused Amtrak of neglecting costly improvements to another critical infrastructure - fifteen miles of tunnels serving over 300,000 daily passengers traveling in and out of New York City. The report blames Amtrak, the federally subsidized railroad that owns the tunnels, for not correcting fire and safety problems in the tunnels identified since 1978. The report said "it is clear that Amtrak has sacrificed accelerated tunnel infrastructure improvements for other economic development projects." However, Amtrak has long complained that lack of money, not neglect, is at fault. The tunnels were built more than ninety years ago and are without basic ventilation, adequate escape routes, and even essential water standpipes for firefighting. Testimony from fire officials and other experts indicate the tunnels "are woefully inadequate to deal with a major fire, accident, terrorist act, or other emergency situation." Yielding to pressure, Amtrak allocated twenty million dollars for tunnel work to speed up installation of standpipes and to provide hand-powered railroad carts to move firefighters and hoses. The State of New York has requested $898 million in federal funds over the next ten years to correct the problems.

The Tsunamis Threat

Often triggered by earthquakes, a tsunamis is a massive wave consisting of millions of tons of water with the potential to rise dozens of feet high before spilling with ground-shaking force and sweeping over low-lying coastal areas. In Hawaii, a towering wall of water killed 173 people in 1946 and 61 people in 1960. Given their reputation for death and destruction, scientists developed an underwater "tsunamis-detection system" aimed at warning people in shoreline areas several hours in advance that a deadly ocean wave and threat to critical infrastructures is headed for land. Nestled strategically on the ocean floor at depths of up to 18,000 feet, according to an August Associated Press article, the five newly developed devices intend to give people on the West Coast and Hawaii more time to head for higher ground. "The instruments, with backup transmission systems, use sonic chips to send data to a surface buoy that relays them to a satellite and then to system computers. These instruments can detect tsunamis generated by coastal or subsurface landslides that would not be noticed by seismographs recording earthquakes." The devices also confirm that a tsunami has not developed, saving millions of dollars in economic losses and disruptions to critical infrastructures resulting from unnecessary evacuations. "Avoiding false alarm evacuations along the West Coast would justify the $2.3 million annual cost of the system, which scientists ultimately hope will save lives."

Emergency Management Planning

In the last few months, the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) has been traveling throughout the state helping county and local officials compile lists of potential terrorist targets and the possible terrorists who might target them. The ADEM attitude is that gathering the information now will help emergency workers respond if an attack occurs at a chemical plant upwind from a town, key bridge, hospital, office, etc. "One of the things we want to know is what capabilities the counties and municipalities have to respond to an emergency situation," said Tina Owens, an ADEM planning specialist. At local meetings in every county, mayors, police chiefs, judges, sheriffs, and fire chiefs are getting together to talk about places in their jurisdictions that could be targeted. They are asked to rate each potential target numerically on a number of scales, by its visibility, importance, value, accessibility, population, and anticipated casualties. Of particular note are sites where hazardous chemicals, biological agents, explosives, or radioactive materials might be found. "In addition to tossing out ideas about targets, the local officials are also asked to exchange ideas about potential terrorist groups," Ms. Owens said. The basic intent of the preparedness program is to make local officials think about such possibilities, and to give Congress a handle on how much money might be needed to equip local officials to cope with a terrorist attack should one occur. While this effort is absolutely essential and commendable, it is largely reactionary in orientation. The Critical Infrastructure Protection Information Center recommends equal attention be given to identifying and protecting critical infrastructures as necessary to prevent their degradation or elimination. Protecting threatened critical infrastructures to deter their loss is a proactive approach to countering possible threats.

Fighting Wildfires with Computers

A $2.5 million, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation was awarded this month to several university researchers who hope to fight wildfires using mathematical supercomputer models designed to answer complex questions with millions of "what if" variables. Their research will not focus solely on so-called fire spread models (real-time computer simulations of how a wildfire would burn in a given situation), according to the Associated Press. "It will involve mathematical models designed to develop 'optimization strategies' for a variety of uses." An optimization strategy details the best way to accomplish a complex goal, based on mathematical formulas that weigh the various related factors. The idea of optimization has been around for a long time. "The supercomputers allow us to tackle much bigger problems," said one of the researchers. "Instead of just a handful of variables, we are talking about millions of variables." Another researcher stated that they want to know where a fire perimeter will be in the future given where it is now. Some are concerned the models might be too broad and that different models may be necessary for different geographical regions with an annual fire season. The real complexity, said researchers, are the three main variables that determine how wildfires spread:

• Weather. How hot, dry, and windy are the current conditions?
• Fuel Loading. What is presently burning (e.g., grass, trees, etc.)?
• Topography. What is the contour of the land (e.g., flat, hilly, roads, rivers, etc.)?

USFACIPC Weekly Lexicon: Infrastructure Protection

Proactive risk management actions intended to prevent a threat from attempting to or succeeding at incapacitating or destroying one or more critical infrastructures.