Resilient infrastructure key to safer cities

SINCE a power outage caused a three-hour suspension of trading at the Singapore Exchange on Nov 5, 2014, and flash floods hit Orchard Road after torrential rains in December 2011, there has been increased scrutiny of the reliability of existing infrastructure systems. In recent years, the increased occurrences of train faults have also introduced occasional episodes of inconveniences into the daily commuting lives of Singaporeans.

Of course, other parts of the world, including advanced nations, are not spared the occasional disruption to their infrastructure systems. System disruptions of substantial magnitude were recen…