Abstract
In an aging population, the need for evacuation plans for the elderly becomes more urgent. However, there is a lack of data and research on the evacuation abilities of elderly people that could be the basis for evacuation planning. Therefore, in this study, the change in the evacuation speeds of seniors was measured in order to establish the standards for a safe evacuation plan for elderly people in the event of a water disaster. The 32 subjects (male-20, female-12) who participated in the experiment served as proxies for the elderly by wearing geriatric simulators that generated movement associated with the elderly. The speeds of male and female participants were measured separately in five water depths, ranging from 10 cm to 50 cm, while performing two types of movement (walking & running), with and without the use of assistive walking devices. Based on this data, we derived the regression equation for the evacuation speeds of the elderly at different water depths, and analyzed their evacuation capabilities. These findings were compared with the evacuation capabilities of young adults and were used to propose suggestions for evacuation plans that will better accommodate the elderly.The evacuation speed of the elderly in various depths of water can be used as basic data for further study, and the results of this analysis will aid decision making in evacuation planning.
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