An interactive evacuation tool to improve the public flood perception

Abstract

The advancing climate change increases the danger of heavy rainfall events and devastating floods, which significantly threaten people’s lives and properties. Geographic information system (GIS) has been a valuable tool for mapping flood risks and emergency management worldwide. In this paper, we develop an interactive evacuation tool to improve public flood perception. This work presents how to create an interactive and animated evacuation tool to strengthen the population’s preparedness and action ability in case of a flood. We simulate water depths and flow velocities for a flood scenario in Bonn, Germany. Afterwards, we investigate the flood’s impact on buildings and streets for different flood situations using geoinformation tools in the software QGIS. Based on thresholds from the literature, we identify endangered buildings where inhabitants have to evacuate and streets still ensuring safe locomotion options during the advancing flood. Taking possible shelter points for the population into account then allows for computing the shortest path to the nearest shelter at each flood situation. Our findings are summarized in evacuation maps that can be used together as interactive information tools for the public and can also serve rescue management and disaster education.