Question:

Review and reflect on the Critical Infrastructure and Vulnerabilities Discussion Board. Based on your review and reflection of new learning in this course, write at least 350-400 words on the following:

What have you learned from others'' responses?

What were the most compelling points from the interaction with your fellow students?

How did participating in this discussion help in your understanding of the Discussion Board task?

How well do you feel you understand the fundamentals of critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR)?

What approaches could have yielded additional valuable information in the students'' networking?

What is still unclear after the discussion with your classmates that needs to be clarified?

Peer response:

"A strong infrastructure is critical for Colorado's economy. For the Chamber, infrastructure includes transportation, telecommunications, water and energy. These systems provide the stable backbone of every modern economy and without them, providing goods and services to people and businesses is difficult at best" (Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, n.d.).

The Transportation system is crucial to the modern way of life. If bridges, overpasses, and roads were damaged the local population would struggle getting to and from work. Let alone the difficulties it would cause for the emergency systems such as police, fire, and EMS. If there were to be a large earthquake, or tornado that were to cause this it would make for a hard time in providing emergency services to possible affected civilians in the area.

When a disaster occurs in a particular area the telecommunication becomes overloaded from people trying to reach emergency services, family, and or other people of their desire. If you look at New York City just after 9/11 occurred the phone system was not capable of handling all the traffic it was receiving from law enforcement, emergency services, and peoples loved ones or their family. As a result from an earthquake or tornado cell towers may be non-operational due to critical damage.

Water lines can be broken or damages is the area affected by natural hazards creating a loss of city and residential water. The loss of fresh water can cause havoc for the fire department, hospitals, and the citizens of that area. The water lines that were ruptured can allow for flooding if the shutoff systems were damaged during an earthquake or other natural hazards. Within the Denver metro area there are dams such as the Chery Creek Reservoir, a large earthquake or a tornado could possibly breach the dam causing catastrophic damage and loss of life in the south east of the Denver Metro area.

Transportation Systems Sector"The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation are designated as the Co-Sector-Specific Agencies for the Transportation Systems Sector" (Homeland Security, n.d.).Water and Wastewater Systems Sector
"The Environmental Protection Agency is designated as the Sector-Specific Agency for the Water and Wastewater Systems Sector" (Homeland Security, n.d.).

Communications Sector "The Communications Sector is an integral component of the U.S. economy, underlying the operations of all businesses, public safety organizations, and government" (Homeland Security, n.d.).

Colorado is known to receive earthquakes, tornados, floods, and fires among other natural disasters that can occur here. For that reason the cities, counties, and state have to prepare in case of a major disaster occurring within the Colorado State borders. The three above critical infrastructures are only a few that could be affected by natural disasters.

The community would suffer a great deal if the transportation services were down making it hard to get help, food, water, and many other services needed to support life. The local community may not be the only group that could be affected by a large natural disaster. It could spread hundreds of miles and could possibly include multiple states. The ability to reach people would be a complicated situation by roads that were un-drivable leaving only air support. With the phones down for a few days it would make it hard on families to communicate with their loved ones letting them know that they are safe. Waster is a key need to support life by any means. The ability of most households without local water is limited to what they may stock.

Natural Disasters could cause disruptions also within the Chemical Sector, Commercial Facilities Sector, Dams Sector, Emergency Services Sector, Energy Sector, Financial Services Sector, Food and Agriculture Sector, Government Facilities Sector, Healthcare and Public Health Sector, Information Technology Sector (Homeland Security, n.d.). Natural disasters pose a threat to every area on Earth but with preparation and warnings people can be ready for whatever could occur. These sectors that could be affected could be as little as possible or it could be catastrophic to the sector that provides services to the community.

References

Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. (n.d.). Infrastructure. Retrieved from http://www.denverchamber.org/Policy_Committees/Infrastructure.aspx

Homeland Security. (n.d.). Critical infrastructure sectors. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/critical-infrastructure-sectors