A Statistical Prioritization Framework for Earthquake-Induced Urban Infrastructure Damage Factors and Mitigation Measures

Earthquake-induced infrastructure disruption can delay emergency response and prolong recovery, yet many post-earthquake damage studies either focus primarily on superstructures or examine individual infrastructure sectors separately. This study presents a questionnaire-based expert assessment of earthquake-induced damage factors and mitigation measures in urban infrastructure systems. Fourteen damage factors and seventeen mitigation measures were identified through a structured literature review and evaluated by 424 technical experts using a five-point Likert scale. The responses were analyzed using reliability analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), the Relative Importance Index (IRI), and Pearson correlation analysis. The dataset showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.926), with KMO = 0.941 and a significant Bartlett’s test (p < 0.001), confirming its suitability for factor analysis. EFA and CFA grouped the damage factors into three dimensions: Post-Earthquake Intervention Challenge (PEIC), Health Food Water Security (HFWS), and After-Earthquake Preparedness (AEP). IRI results ranked PEIC as the highest-priority expert-perceived factor group (average IRI = 90.61%), followed by HFWS (88.32%) and AEP (85.10%). Pearson correlations indicated that resilient network and pipeline infrastructure, resource diversification and redundant distribution capacities, regular maintenance and inspection, strategic stockpiles, site-selection reassessment, slope stabilization, and early warning systems were strongly associated with one or more factor groups (r > 0.60; p < 0.001). The findings should be interpreted as expert-perceived priorities rather than objective damage probabilities; nevertheless, they provide a structured basis for preliminary prioritization of urban infrastructure resilience measures in earthquake-prone contexts.