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Vejdani Nozar A, Givehchi S, Malekmohammadi B. Vulnerability Assessment of Urban Water and Wastewater Physical Assets Under Man-made Disaster Scenarios: A Case Study of Hamedan City, Iran. Disaster Prev. Manag. Know. 2026; 16 (2) :174-213
URL: http://dpmk.ir/article-1-801-en.html

Background and objective In recent years, the vulnerability of critical infrastructures to disasters, particularly man-made disasters, has become an important concern in disaster management and passive defense. Historical evidence shows that the vulnerability of critical urban assets can seriously undermine community security and resilience. Among these urban assets, impairment of water and wastewater systems, which are responsible for providing safe drinking water, sanitary sewage disposal, and its treatment, can have severe and irreversible social consequences, including public unrest. This study aims to develop an optimal pattern for assessing the vulnerability of water and wastewater systems’ physical assets to man-made disasters in Hamedan, Iran. In recent years, the vulnerability of critical infrastructures to disasters, particularly man-made disasters, has become an important concern in disaster management and passive defense. Historical evidence shows that the vulnerability of critical urban assets can seriously undermine community security and resilience. Among these urban assets, impairment of water and wastewater systems, which are responsible for providing safe drinking water, sanitary sewage disposal, and its treatment, can have severe and irreversible social consequences, including public unrest. This study aims to develop an optimal pattern for assessing the vulnerability of water and wastewater systems’ physical assets to man-made disasters in Hamedan, Iran.
Methods In this study conducted in Hamadan city, data were collected using the library method and interviews with experts. First, the layout map of the assets under study was drawn using Google Earth Pro software. After defining the evaluation criteria and preparing a questionnaire, the experts' opinions were compiled, and the criteria weights, vulnerability assessment, and asset ranking were analyzed using the Simultaneous Evaluation of Criteria and Alternatives (SECA) decision-making method in the Lingo software. Finally, ArcGIS software was used to prepare the vulnerability zoning map for the assets.
Results System redundancy, safety and security weaknesses, and system dependency were the top three factors influencing vulnerability. By asset type, water treatment plants, water pumping stations, and surface water resources had highest rank in vulnerability. Pattern validation under three scenarios of explosion, industrial hazards, and environmental contamination showed that water treatment plants had the highest vulnerability scores in the first two scenarios, while surface water resources ranked first in the third scenario.
Conclusion The results confirm the reliability of the proposed pattern for the vulnerability of Hamadan’s water and wastewater systems’ assets.