The Ethics of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure Maintenance and Social Equity

This paper focuses on the maintenance deficiencies of disaster resilient infrastructure on behalf of engineers that contributed to the impacts of Hurricane Katrina, Fukushima, and the 2023 Hawaii Wildfires. These disasters together caused over 20,000 deaths and $125 billion in property damages, unequally affecting the socially vulnerable. We explore the specific failings of the Army Corps of Engineers, Tokyo Electric Power Company, and Hawaiian Electric that contributed to the horrific damages of these disasters. Analyzing the design decisions and oversights in each of these cases through the lens of the NSPE Code of Ethics, we aim to bring awareness of blind spots in the current code concerning the importance of social equity. By outlining the disproportionate harm that natural disasters inflict on marginalized communities, we aim to further justify the ethical importance of disaster resilient infrastructure maintenance on deontological and utilitarian grounds. This study highlights the importance of considering public interest in engineering practices and proposes ethically guided preventative measures to avoid similar disasters from happening globally through utilitarian and deontological perspectives.