Post-earthquake functionality assessment and resilience enhancement of interdependent electric power and mobile communication networks

Interdependent electric power and mobile communication networks (IPMN) are critical urban lifelines but are highly vulnerable to cascading failures during severe earthquakes. To quantify post-earthquake failure propagation and guide pre-disaster investment, this study develops an integrated framework for functionality assessment and resilience enhancement. First, the framework captures the bidirectional interdependence between the power distribution network (PDN) and the mobile communication network (MCN). Second, it incorporates an emergency response strategy based on a priority-based greedy expansion algorithm. Third, it establishes a pre-disaster resilience reinforcement optimization framework. Simulations under earthquake scenarios with moment magnitudes from 6.0 to 7.0 reveal a distinct unidirectional cascading failure mechanism: PDN degradation is dominated by irreversible physical damage, whereas MCN vulnerability is driven primarily by dependence on power supply. Cost-benefit analysis shows that PDN reinforcement yields limited marginal benefits at intermediate investment levels that fail to bridge topological gaps, whereas MCN resilience is highly cost-sensitive. Accordingly, a cost-effective strategy of “Securing Communication, Targeting Critical Power Nodes, and Optimizing Cost” is proposed, combining targeted hardening of critical power nodes with efficient communication reinforcement at an estimated cost of approximately 27.6 million CNY. Finally, sensitivity analyses confirm the framework’s adaptability in identifying economically viable resilience strategies under varying physical and financial constraints.