Simulation of evacuation route scenarios through multicriteria analysis for rescue activities

Abstract

After a disaster happens in urban areas, many people need support for a quick evacuation. This work aims to develop a method for the calculation of the most feasible evacuation route inside buildings. In the methodology we simplify the geometry of the structural and non structural elements from the BIM (Building Information Modeling) to store them in a spatial database which follows standards to support vector data. Then, we apply the multicriteria analysis with the allocation of prioritization values and weight factors validated through the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process), in order to obtain the Importance Index S(n) of the elements. The criteria consider security conditions and distribution of the building's facilities. The S(n) is included as additional heuristic data for the calculation of the evacuation route through an algorithm developed as a variant of the A* pathfinding, The experimental results in the simulation of evacuation scenarios for vulnerable people in healthy physical conditions and for the elderly group, shown that the conditions about the wide of routes, restricted areas, vulnerable elements, floor roughness and location of facilities in the building applied in the multicriteria analysis has a high influence on the processing of the developed variant of A* algorithm. The criteria modify the evacuation route, because they considers as the most feasible route, the safest instead of the shortest, for the simulation of evacuation scenarios for people in healthy physical conditions. Likewise, they consider the route with the location of facilities for the movement of the elderly like the most feasible in the simulation of evacuation route for the transit of the elderly group. These results are important for the assessment of the decision makers to select between the shortest or safest route like the feasible for search and rescue activities. ? 2019 Korean Society of Surveying. All rights reserved.