Evacuating Populations with Special Needs Using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Method and GIS

Abstract

The present study is focused on the development of a methodology pertaining to the evacuation plans improvement in a scenario where infrastructures are located in residential settlements that might be threatened by fires; the aforesaid settlements are oftentimes found to be resided by vulnerable population groups, namely elderly people, handicapped people and children. The study pinpoints Evacuation Assembly Points (E.A.P.s) on the outskirts of their settlement and examines the evacuation routes accessibility and safety by way of utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GISs). What is more, our meticulously planned methodology combining quantitative analysis, as well as participatory planning, allows for improve strategies targeted on how to effectively ensure the vulnerable population groups evacuation. The study’s results exhibit how vital it is to integrate technological tools in combination with each community’s partaking in the process of preparing and implementing evacuation plans. The study’s findings furthermore suggest the need to further research the evolution of dynamic evacuation models, which would take the ever-changing and ever-evolving needs of vulnerable population groups into account.