The structural robustness of geographical networks against regional failure and their pre-optimization

• We introduce a regional failure pattern of geographical complex networks.
• Nodes and edges within a certain region malfunction when a geographical network is subject to a regional failure.
• The structural integrity of geographical networks is vulnerable to regional failure.
• Strengthening the interconnection among hubs can enhance the robustness of geographical networks economically.

Failures of real-world infrastructure networks due to natural disasters often originate in a certain region, but this feature has seldom been considered in theoretical models. In this article, we introduce a possible failure pattern of geographical networks–“regional failure”–by which nodes and edges within a region malfunction. Based on a previous spatial network model (Louf et al., 2013), we study the robustness of geographical networks against regional failure, which is measured by the fraction of nodes that remain in the largest connected component, via simulations. A small-area failure results in a large reduction of their robustness measure. Furthermore, we investigate two pre-deployed mechanisms to enhance their robustness: One is to extend the cost–benefit growth mechanism of the original network model by adding more than one link in a growth step, and the other is to strengthen the interconnection of hubs in generated networks. We measure the robustness-enhancing effects of both mechanisms on the basis of their costs, i.e., the amount of excessive links and the induced geographical length. The latter mechanism is better than the former one if a normal level of costs is considered. When costs exceed a certain level, the former has an advantage. Because the costs of excessive links affect the investment decision of real-world infrastructure networks, it is practical to enhance their robustness by adding more links between hubs. These results might help design robust geographical networks economically.