Towards creating a combined database for earthquake pedestrians' evacuation models
Authored by Marco D'Orazio, Enrico Quagliarini, Gabriele Bernardini
Date Published: 2016
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2015.09.001
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Abstract
Earthquake risk assessment at urban scale is actually based on site
hazard, buildings vulnerability and exposition, but does not consider
human behaviours during both the event and the evacuation. Nevertheless, human interactions in such conditions become one of the most influencing
element for inhabitants safety. Hence, an important issue is
understanding how people interact with other individuals and with the
environment modified by the earthquake. The development of evacuation
software in earthquake conditions needs investigations about these
aspects. In fact, actual data about earthquake evacuation behaviours are
very poor. This work starts from this request and proposes an innovative
database for earthquake evacuation models according to literature
suggestions. A wide number of videotapes concerning real events from all
over the World is analysed in order to provide human behaviours and
motion quantities, and to integrate previous results. The database
firstly includes the step-by-step evacuation behaviours that are
activated during the process. Secondly, motion quantities (speed, acceleration, and distance from obstacles) are provided. The analysis of
real emergency conditions evidences particular phenomena. Main results
demonstrate how people prefer moving with an average speed of about
2.3-3 m/s. Finally, fundamental diagrams of pedestrians' dynamics in
earthquake emergency conditions show how, density values being equals, speeds and flows are higher than previous studies (in particular: fire
evacuation and evacuation drill). These data can be used as input
parameters for defining and developing new evacuation models, but also
for existent models validation. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights
reserved.
Tags
behavior
Crowd evacuation
Risk
time
Emergency evacuation
Social-influence
Urban outdoor scenarios
Exit choice
Wenchuan
earthquake
Fire evacuation