Quantifying Cascading Impacts of Natural Hazards on Power-Communication Interdependent Networks

Extreme weather events increasingly threaten critical infrastructure (CI) systems, particularly power and telecommunication networks, leading to cascading failures. This paper proposes a novel resilience assessment framework that explicitly models spatial interdependencies between electricity and telecommunication networks using a graph-based approach. Sectorspecific metrics, including Demand Not Served (DNS), power line failure rates, and affected population estimates, quantify the impact of windstorm-induced disruptions. A spatiotemporal hazard scenario generator simulates realistic storm events, dynamically propagating failures through the coupled networks. A key innovation is the integration of a telecommunication signal propagation model-combining Extended Hata, Rapport models, and a binary search algorithm-to estimate coverage loss within the resilience framework. The framework is validated in Cyprus using real-world and synthetic data, identifying vulnerable regions and informing disaster response strategies.