Flood Assessment and Identification of Emergency Evacuation Routes in Seti River Basin, Nepal

Sudden floods frequently occur in the Himalayas under changing climates. Rapid glacial melt has resulted in the formation of glacial lakes and associated hazards. This research aimed to (1) identify flood-prone houses, (2) determine pedestrian emergency evacuation routes, and (3) analyze their relationships to socioeconomic status in the Seti River Basin. Detailed hazard maps were created using field survey results from unmanned aerial vehicle photogrammetry and the Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System. Questionnaire, focus-group, and key-informant surveys helped identify the socioeconomic situation. Inundation maps revealed that most residents are exposed to future flooding hazards without proper evacuation routes. Highly impoverished and immigrant households were at the highest risk in terms of income inequality and migration rate (p < 0.001) and were located on the riverside. The locations of 455 laborers’ houses were significantly correlated with inundation hazards (p < 0.001). Governmental and associated agencies must develop adequate plans to relocate low-income households. Group discussions revealed the need for stronger adaptive capacity-building strategies for future risk management. Pokhara requires better systematic and scientific land-use planning strategies to address this issue efficiently. A similar approach that combines flood modeling, proper evacuation route access, and socioeconomic survey is suggested for this river basin.

Development of Evacuation Route Planning Algorithm for Responding to Urban Forest Fires

The Gangwon region (Korea) is severely affected by forest fires, where approximately sixty-six wildfires have occurred over the last three years, which in turn have damaged 1299 ha of this region. Hence, it is necessary to develop schemes for reducing the damage caused by forest fires in Gangwon. In this study, we developed an algorithm for planning evacuation routes. The developed algorithm was applied to a virtual scenario for determining evacuation start points within the spread range of wildfires, fifteen evacuation routes were then determined for each start point, and the associated distance information was displayed. Furthermore, by employing the Naver Maps software, the obtained evacuation routes was compared and analyzed with respect to the route distance. We believe that the results obtained from this study can be used as basic data for making decisions to identify various evacuation routes.

Simulation-Based and Risk-Informed Assessment of the Effectiveness of Tsunami Evacuation Routes Using Agent-Based Modeling: A Case Study of Seaside, Oregon

Typically, tsunami evacuation routes are marked using signs in the transportation network and the evacuation map is made to educate people on how to follow the evacuation route. However, tsunami evacuation routes are usually identified without the support of evacuation simulation, and the route effectiveness in the reduction of evacuation risk is typically unknown quantitatively. This study proposes a simulation-based and risk-informed framework for quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of evacuation routes in reducing evacuation risk. An agent-based model is used to simulate the tsunami evacuation, which is then used in a simulation-based risk assessment framework to evaluate the evacuation risk. The route effectiveness in reducing the evacuation risk is evaluated by investigating how the evacuation risk varies with the proportion of the evacuees that use the evacuation route. The impacts of critical risk factors such as evacuation mode (for example, on foot or by car) and population size and distribution on the route effectiveness are also investigated. The evacuation risks under different cases are efficiently calculated using the augmented sample-based approach. The proposed approach is applied to the risk-informed evaluation of the route effectiveness for tsunami evacuation in Seaside, Oregon. The evaluation results show that the route usage is overall effective in reducing the evacuation risk in the study area. The results can be used for evacuation preparedness education and hence effective evacuation.

A computer-based simulation and evaluation: Applying an automatic sprinkler system for extinguishing scooter fires in arcade areas

In Taiwan, arcade buildings function as areas for parking scooters, spaces for markets, and walkways for pedestrians. In recent decades, arcade fires have caused many cases of serious casualties due to the likely direction of fire that spreads from the first floor up, which hinders the evacuation routes. The majority of fire prevention research has focused on confined spaces or rooms instead of arcade areas. Specifically, the controlling of fire spreads that are caused by scooters in arcade areas has been rarely discussed. The variables of spaces, Response Time Index, and sprinkler activation temperatures are modeled in five fire scenarios with the Fire Dynamics Simulator software to simulate the real arcade fires in this paper. The results show that (1) setting an automatic sprinkler system can effectively suppress the arcade fires, (2) the quick response sprinkler RTI≦50 is the most effective type, and the result is similar to RTI=25, and (3) the sprinkler settings with either 2.3 meters or 2.6 meters do not have significant effects on heat release rates.

Community preparedness for volcanic hazards at Mount Rainier, USA

Lahars pose a significant risk to communities, particularly those living near snow-capped volcanoes. Flows of mud and debris, typically but not necessarily triggered by volcanic activity, can have huge impacts, such as those seen at Nevado Del Ruiz, Colombia, in 1985 which led to the loss of over 23,000 lives and destroyed an entire town. We surveyed communities around Mount Rainier, Washington, United States, where over 150,000 people are at risk from lahar impacts. We explored how factors including demographics, social effects such as perceptions of community preparedness, evacuation drills, and cognitive factors such as risk perception and self-efficacy relate to preparedness when living within or nearby a volcanic hazard zone. Key findings include: women have stronger intentions to prepare but see themselves as less prepared than men; those who neither live nor work in a lahar hazard zone were more likely to have an emergency kit and to see themselves as more prepared; those who will need help to evacuate see the risk as lower but feel less prepared; those who think their community and officials are more prepared feel more prepared themselves; and benefits of evacuation drills and testing evacuation routes including stronger intentions to evacuate using an encouraged method and higher self-efficacy. We make a number of recommendations based on these findings including the critical practice of regular evacuation drills and the importance of ongoing messaging that focuses on appropriate ways to evacuate as well as the careful recommendation for residents to identify alternative unofficial evacuation routes.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Photogrammetric Technic for 3D Tsunamis Safety Modeling in Cilacap, Indonesia

Three-dimensional (3D) modeling of tsunami events is intended to promote tsunami safety. However, the developed 3D modeling methods based on Computational Fluid Dynamics and photorealistic particle visualization have some weaknesses, such as not being similar to the original environment, not measuring the wave’s end point, and low image accuracy. The method for 3D modeling of tsunamis that results from this research can fulfil those weaknesses because it has advantages, such as being able to predict the end point of waves, similar to the original environment, and the height and area of inundation. In addition, the method produces more detailed and sharper spatial data. Modeling in this research is conducted using Agisoft Metashape Professional software to a produce 3D orthomosaic from pictures taken with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technique or drone (photogrammetry), and 3ds max software is used for wave simulation. We take a sample of an area in Cilacap, Indonesia that was impacted by the 2006 southwest coast tsunamis and may be vulnerable to future big megathrust earthquakes and tsunamis. The results could be used to provide several benefits, such as the creation of evacuation routes and the determination of appropriate locations for building shelters.

Above the debris

<p>At an accelerating rate, over half of the world’s population is living in urban centres. The catastrophic risk to environmental, cultural, and economic resources amidst these high concentrations of livelihoods upon the wake of a disaster has the potential to be devastating. A city’s urban form consisting of its open space networks and street structures are important spatial resources that provide affected communities with efficient evacuation routes, assembly areas, temporary market spaces, and room for temporary shelters in the aftermath of a disaster. Open public spaces are especially important during these scenarios as they provide large volumes of space that can be adapted to a variety of different functions. However, these spaces are seldom designed with resilience in mind. This thesis investigates how open spaces are able to contribute to the disaster resiliency of urban centres, ensuring that the needs of the present are in light of the needs of the future.</p>

Above the debris

<p>At an accelerating rate, over half of the world’s population is living in urban centres. The catastrophic risk to environmental, cultural, and economic resources amidst these high concentrations of livelihoods upon the wake of a disaster has the potential to be devastating. A city’s urban form consisting of its open space networks and street structures are important spatial resources that provide affected communities with efficient evacuation routes, assembly areas, temporary market spaces, and room for temporary shelters in the aftermath of a disaster. Open public spaces are especially important during these scenarios as they provide large volumes of space that can be adapted to a variety of different functions. However, these spaces are seldom designed with resilience in mind. This thesis investigates how open spaces are able to contribute to the disaster resiliency of urban centres, ensuring that the needs of the present are in light of the needs of the future.</p>

PRIORITY SEARCH SIMULATION FOR FLOOD EVACUATION ROUTES USING FUZZY AHP APPROACH

A flood is an event of an increase in water volume above the standard limit due to increased rainfall, rising sea levels, storms, and others that result in submerging an area. Floods are disasters that can cause damage and loss of property, disrupt community activities and even cause loss of life. The central defiance to rescue flood victims is choosing a safe route for flood victims to reach the evacuation site. To be able to choose a safe route for flood victims, a flood evacuation simulation is made. Flood evacuation simulation is part of the game that has been created and aims to provide education about the weight of the obstacle that needs to be considered in selecting routes for flood victims. In this flood evacuation simulation, each road has obstacles. The method proposed for choosing safe routes for flood victims is the Fuzzy-based Analytical Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy AHP). The calculation of road route weight using the Fuzzy AHP method will produce the weight for each route. The smallest weight route shows the priority route and the safe route for flood victims to pass. In this case, the Fuzzy AHP method's calculation produces the lowest weight of 0.02347, which is achieved by route 5, the route passing through S-a-b-d-D. This route is a priority route that is safe for flood victims to pass through.