How could students be safe during flood and tsunami events?

Abstract

Reduction of the impact of natural hazards and enhancement of the resilience of population involves access to straightforward information about safe and non-safe areas during the occurrence of a natural phenomenon. The present study focusses on the drainage basin of the Xerias River, at northeastern Peloponnese, Greece, an area highly prone to flooding, while tsunami inundation has also been documented. Firstly, the hazard assessment of the study area to the two phenomena was evaluated by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process and Geographical Information System along with geological, geomorphological, and meteorological data. A sensitivity analysis was used to calculate the uncertainties of both produced geohazard maps, while validation procedure was carried out to determine their accuracy. This study focused on the settlements that host primary and secondary schools to identify safe locations, as well as safe routes from schools to these locations. To this end, the hazard maps were used as input that estimated and divided the settlements into safe and non-safe areas concerning flooding and tsunami inundation. Then, safe locations and routes were defined for the evacuation of the population in case of occurrence of these two natural hazards and incorporated all aforementioned information into an open access application. Regarding flood hazard, the most prone areas are distributed at the northern part of the study area. The analysis for the hazard to tsunami inundation indicated that the most susceptible area is a narrow coastal zone across the city of Corinth. The proposed method appears to be quite accurate, and both geohazard maps is of excellent quality, according to the uncertainty analysis and validation findings. Τhe northern part of city of Corinth along with the nearby schools is threatened by both geohazards. The recommended safe locations for flood hazard are distant from the northern part of the city, while the recognized safe areas for tsunami hazard are not close to the coast. The schools of Athikia and Chiliomodi are located in non-safe areas regarding flooding and authorities should ensure the construction of flood shelter near schools. In the settlements of Solomos and Examilia, the school buildings are located in safe areas regarding flooding. This study highlights the importance of scientific analysis in safe location and route planning, brings together science and society, and provides useful information that can save human lives.