Human evacuation affected by smoke movement in mine fires

The objective of this work is to investigate the influence of smoke movement during mine fires on miner evacuation behaviors. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics method was conducted to reconstruct the lane- way conveyor belt fire scenes under two ventilating conditions. The parameters, including temperature-time histories, soot density, carbon monoxide and heat release rate, were simulated to characterize the mine fires at various ventilating speeds. A miner evacuation model affected by fire smoke movement was advanced to describe the miner evacuation behaviors, which can be divided into three stages. Based on the evacuation model coupled with the mine fire smoke movement, the available safety evacuation time for miners involved in coal mine fire located in different sites was estimated. Two evacuation patterns were advanced according to the ventilating speeds combined with the model of miner evacuation behaviors. The results show that the miners located between the inlet-air end and the air door in lane 1 should be evacuated to the inlet-air end and other miners involved in coal mine fire could choose the air door as the escaping destination, when the ventilation speed is greater than 3 m/s. Accordingly, the research can be used as references for the mine safety administration authorities to design the safety evacuation.

Factors Affecting Behaviors that Precede Evacuation at the Onset of a Heavy Rainstorm in Japan

There exist certain behaviors that people tend to do in disaster situations before evacuation. Such behaviors include warning confirmation behavior(for example, seeking information) and family-oriented behavior(for example,contacting one’s family). Identifying factors that affect these behaviors is of particular importance in building a better understanding of why people often fail to respond quickly to evacuation orders. For this purpose, the present study employed some of the established factors affecting evacuation behavior as predictor variables along with the timing of an evacuation order. A total of 518 participants took part in a 12-item online questionnaire survey that contained a hypothetical disaster scenario. The results of ordinal logistic regression analyses revealed that only risk area residence and disaster preparedness were associated with warning confirmation behavior, while gender, age, disaster preparedness,and risk perception had some associations with family-oriented behavior. Also, the participants were not more likely to engage in these behaviors in the morning and the afternoon than the evening in the hypothetical scenario. These findings imply the possibility that people engage in warning confirmation behavior and family-oriented behavior before evacuation regardless of individual characteristics and the circumstances surrounding them.

Households' Risk Perception and Behavioral Responses to Natech Accidents

This study analyzes data on households' risk perception and protective behavior following a natural disaster triggered technological accident(Natech accident)that occurred at an industrial park in Sendai during the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, on 11 March2011. The results indicate that some households carried out multiple evacuations and that households' risk perceptions changed throughout the Natech accident evacuation process. Risk perception differed according to household location and demographic characteristics. We also found differences in the protective measures adopted for households in different locations. Specifically, those living closer to the Natech accident tended to evacuate immediately,whereas those living further away tended to shelter in place. Wind direction is discussed as a factor that influences households' risk perception and evacuation response to a Natech accident. The findings of this study advance knowledge of household behavior in response to a Natech accident and can assist emergency managers in developing strategies for better management of evacuation processes.

Development and Social Implementation of Smartphone App Nige-Tore for Improving Tsunami Evacuation Drills: Synergistic Effects Between Commitment and Contingency

This research explored how we can improve tsunami evacuation behavior,which has been a major social issue since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.We introduce Nige-Tore,a smartphone app for supporting tsunami evacuation drills,which was developed within an interdisciplinary research framework.Nige-Tore serves as an effective interface tool that successfully visualizes the dynamic interactions between human actions(evacuation behavior)and natural phenomena(tsunami behavior).Drill participants can check,on their smartphone,the estimated inundation area of the approaching tsunami,along with their own current evacuation trajectory.The results of real-world trials using NigeTore show that the app is more powerful than conventional devices and methods that have been used in tsunami evacuation training,such as hazard maps and traditional drills that do not make use of any apps,because Nige-Tore provides an interface that enables commitment and contingency thinking—which at first glance appear to represent different orientations—to not only coexist but to synergize.‘‘Commitment’’(devotion or involvement)refers to the act of immersing oneself in and viewing as absolute one particular scenario or its potential to be actualized,given conditions in which infinite scenarios may be actualized,depending on the interactions between human systems and natural systems.‘‘Contingency’’thinking(an accidental or incidental state)refers to the act of relativizing and separating oneself from any particular scenario or its potential to be actualized,given the same conditions.The synergistic effect of‘‘commitment’’and‘‘contingency’’thinking also expands people’s capacity to cope with unexpected and unforeseen events.