Tsunami evacuation processes based on human behaviour in past earthquakes and tsunamis: A literature review

Abstract

Understanding the evacuation behaviour in tsunamis offers important knowledge to consider for evacuation, countermeasures and preparedness for future tsunamis. With this background, various aspects of evacuation behaviour have been investigated in past earthquake and tsunami events, but have not been organised to provide an overview of the general tsunami evacuation process. In this paper, we reviewed 39 reports and articles that surveyed actual human responses in past 22 tsunami-related events and organised the existing findings on human behaviour during tsunamis into a theoretical framework: a tsunami evacuation process that describes general human behavioural components and notifications during tsunami events. The framework illustrates the continuous psychological and physical process in tsunami evacuation and the dynamical transition of notifications during tsunamis. Since the tsunami evacuation process provides a clear overview of the components of the tsunami evacuation process, it enables researchers design survey questions for comprehensive investigations of tsunami evacuations and leads a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of human behaviour in tsunamis that will contribute to consider more appropriate evacuation preparedness for future tsunamis.