Disasters have been known to disrupt lives and livelihoods. Part of a government’s remit is to assess risks to society as well as to assign different, often specialised, agencies to address those risks. 

One consequence of such specialisation is the increase in interagency dependency, networked risks and the cascading effects of events. It is therefore necessary to assess and develop disaster risk reduction more comprehensively than previously and from the inter-sectoral or interagency perspective, taking into account all the actors involved. 

In an empirical study involving energy, healthcare and water services, 3 sectors vital to Finnish residents’ wellbeing, we aim to contribute to the body of knowledge regarding interconnected risks and cross-sectoral cascades. We do this by investigating the vulnerabilities in preparedness that may exacerbate inter-sectoral cascades as well as by answering how these vulnerabilities can be addressed.