The paper "Digital disaster prevention for ocean engineering: Current progress and future directions" has been published in the journal Ocean Engineering.
The increasing frequency of typhoons and other extreme climate events has intensified the risks of natural hazard-triggered technological accidents (Natech). Traditional disaster-prevention approaches, largely dependent on static analyses, are no longer sufficient for real-time risk identification or proactive mitigation in ocean engineering. This review synthesizes recent progress in digital disaster prevention, focusing on three core areas: disaster-inducing factor identification, disaster mechanism modeling, and structural safety assessment. The paper integrates physics-based numerical modeling, data-driven simulation, and system dynamics to analyze hazard triggers and cascading failures. It highlights applications of digital twins and deep learning in scenario-based risk analysis and early-warning systems, particularly for offshore wind farms. Furthermore, it proposes a forward-looking digital technology system that integrates environmental sensing, interpretable modelling, and resilience-oriented decision support. Overall, digital disaster prevention provides a significant pathway toward more adaptive, predictive, and resilient safety management in ocean engineering.
Note: Ocean Engineering is a top journal in the field of engineering technology, classified in Q1, with an expected impact factor of 5.5 in 2025. I am the first author and corresponding author of the paper. The research was funded by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program and the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation.