Application of Microscopic Simulation of Traffic Flows in Developing Evacuation Plans for Inhabitants

The paper presents the possibilities of implementing micro-simulation traffic tools in order to develop the evacuation plans. Well elaborated evacuation plans are the basis for alleviating the consequences resulting from emergencies. The simulation tools allow the design and verification of various evacuation planning scenarios with minimisation of costs and time. The paper provides detailed presentation of the basic characteristics of microscopic simulation of traffic flows, as well as examples of their implementation worldwide. The characteristics of the software tools are described through an overview of the basic settings ofPTV VISSIM （Planung Transport Verkehrin Stadten--Simulations model） program as one of the most significant representatives of these tools. The necessity of implementing the traffic tools in evacuation results from the crucial role of traffic in reducing the consequences of emergencies. These tools allow also a detailed analysis of the output data in order to select a suitable solution. The concluding part of the paper presents an example of evacuation of the population through the Jankomir node as part of the European project ＂preparedness for evacuation in case of a nuclear accident＂. The evacuation was performed through three scenarios in circumstances of higher or lower transport demand.

Research on Evacuation Path Planning Based on Improved Sparrow Search Algorithm

Reducing casualties and property losses through effective evacuation route planning has been a key focus for researchers in recent years.As part of this effort,an enhanced sparrow search algorithm(MSSA)was proposed.Firstly,the Golden Sine algorithm and a nonlinear weight factor optimization strategy were added in the discoverer position update stage of the SSA algorithm.Secondly,the Cauchy-Gaussian perturbation was applied to the optimal position of the SSA algorithm to improve its ability to jump out of local optima.Finally,the local search mechanism based on the mountain climbing method was incorporated into the local search stage of the SSA algorithm,improving its local search ability.To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm,the Whale Algorithm,Gray Wolf Algorithm,Improved Gray Wolf Algorithm,Sparrow Search Algorithm,and MSSA Algorithm were employed to solve various test functions.The accuracy and convergence speed of each algorithm were then compared and analyzed.The results indicate that the MSSA algorithm has superior solving ability and stability compared to other algorithms.To further validate the enhanced algorithm’s capabilities for path planning,evacuation experiments were conducted using different maps featuring various obstacle types.Additionally,a multi-exit evacuation scenario was constructed according to the actual building environment of a teaching building.Both the sparrow search algorithm and MSSA algorithm were employed in the simulation experiment for multiexit evacuation path planning.The findings demonstrate that the MSSA algorithm outperforms the comparison algorithm,showcasing its greater advantages and higher application potential.

Efficient contraflow algorithms for quickest evacuation planning

The optimization models and algorithms with their implementations on flow over time problems have been an emerging field of research because of largely increasing human-created and natural disasters worldwide.For an optimal use of transportation network to shift affected people and normalize the disastrous situation as quickly and efficiently as possible,contraflow configuration is one of the highly applicable operations research(OR)models.It increases the outbound road capacities by reversing the direction of arcs towards the safe destinations that not only minimize the congestion and increase the flow but also decrease the evacuation time significantly.In this paper,we sketch the state of quickest flow solutions and solve the quickest contraflow problem with constant transit times on arcs proving that the problem can be solved in strongly polynomial time O(nm^2(long n)~2)where n and m are number of nodes and number of arcs,respectively in the network.This contraflow solution has the same computational time bound as that of the best min-cost flow solution.Moreover,we also introduce the contraflow approach with load dependent transit times on arcs and present an efficient algorithm to solve the quickest contraflow problem approximately.Supporting the claim,our computational experiments on Kathmandu road network and on randomly generated instances perform very well matching the theoretical results.For a sufficiently large number of evacuees,about double flow can be shifted with the same evacuation time and about half time is sufficient to push the given flow value with contraflow reconfiguration.

Debris Flow Disaster Prevention and Mitigation of NonStructural Strategies in Taiwan

Taiwan has disadvantageous conditions for sediment-related disasters such as debris flows. The construction of engineering structures is an effective strategy for reducing debris flow disasters. However, it is impossible to construct engineering structures in all debris flow areas in a short period. Therefore, the government aims to gradually develop non-structural preventive strategies, including evacuation planning, debris flow disaster emergency action system, disaster resistant community program, recruitment of debris flow professional volunteers, debris flow warning systems, and land management strategies, to mitigate disasters and secure the safety of residents. This review describes the processes and effects of recent debris flow non-structural preventive strategies in Taiwan. The average number of casualties prior to the year 2000 was far higher than the corresponding number after 2000 because debris flow evacuation drills have been promoted since 2000 and the debris flow disaster emergency action system has been progressively improved since 2002. Furthermore, the changes in risks caused by debris flow disasters before and after the implementation of non-structural preventive strategies were used to explain the effectiveness of these strategies at the community level. The results showed that softwarebased non-structural preventive strategies can effectively reduce the casualties caused by debris flows at both the national and community levels.

Evaluating human behaviour during a disaster evacuation process:A literature review

The frequency of natural and man-made disasters has increased over the past few decades,which has doubled the significance of evacuation planning because it directly affects people’s lives and properties.How evacuees behave during a disaster and the methodologies to assess their behaviour are vital factors in managing any emergency scenario.For example,during the evacuation of a transportation network,users’amount of information and how they react are imperative to achieve a resilient response to a disaster.Even though there are numerous approaches for assessing evacuee behaviour,further research is needed to determine how and when each methodology should be employed.This paper intends to evaluate and classify the methodologies that have been presented up to date to create a more consistent approach to interpreting human behaviour during an evacuation process.The majority of studies focus on how people behave during an evacuation of a building,with less attention paid to how they behave during a transport evacuation.Among the proposed methodologies in this paper,the virtual reality approach,in individual behaviour,and agent-based models,in crowd behaviour,have more advantages than other approaches.Overall,a comparison between the proposed approaches is made in the discussion part.The output of this study provides the classifications and suggestions for researchers to pick an appropriate approach based on the types of problems,and some direction for future studies are introduced.To reach the research goal,177 papers have been reviewed between 1954 and 2022.

A Study on the Methods for Estimating the Distribution of Pedestrians in an Underground Mall by Use of Watch Cameras

This paper shows the method of estimating spatiotemporal distribution of pedestrians by using watch cameras. We estimate the distribution without tracking technology, with pedestrian＇s privacy protected and in Umeda underground mall. Lately spatiotemporal distribution of pedestrians has being increasingly important in the field of urban planning, disaster prevention planning, marketing and so on. Although many researchers have tried to capture the information of location as dealing with some sensors, some problems still remain, such as the investment of sensors, the restriction of the number of people who has the device they are able to capture. From such background, we develop an original labelling algorithm and estimate the spatiotemporal distribution of pedestrians and the information of the passing time and the direction of pedestrians from sequential images of a watch camera.

Evacuating a First Nation Due to Wildfire Smoke:The Case of Dene Tha’ First Nation

Almost every year,First Nations are evacuated in Canada because of wildfire proximity and smoke.Dynamics of wildfires,and remote locations,unique sociocultural characteristics,and limited emergency management resources present challenges for evacuation organizers and residents.This study explores how Dene Tha’First Nation evacuated their Tachécommunity in July 2012 due to wildfire smoke and how the evacuation process affected evacuees.Interviews were completed with 31 evacuation organizers and residents to examine the factors that helped and hindered the evacuation process.Lack of information about the nearby wildfire,smoke,and evacuation of the nearby small community of Zama City,combined with a generic evacuation plan,delayed and posed challenges during the evacuation of this Dene Tha’community.Strong leadership and its role in community organizing,keeping families together,providing the social support they needed,and using familiar host communities,demonstrated and contributed to the community’s resilience during the evacuation.Measures to improve evacuations and emergency management in the community and other First Nations in Canada are identified and discussed.