Evacuation Signage Research Articles

Earthquake and tsunami preparedness between residents and tourists in coastal communities

Earthquakes and tsunamis are natural phenomena that trigger severe consequences for communities. Compared to residents, tourists are more vulnerable to natural hazards, mainly due to a lack of knowledge of the territory hazards, alert signs, and the local language. To encourage disaster preparedness behavior, this study explored the differences in risk perception, trust in authorities, and preparedness for earthquakes and tsunamis between residents and tourists in a coastal city highly exposed to seismic activity.A survey was implemented in a sample of residents (n = 548) and tourists (national n = 194; international n = 38) in a coastal city in Chile. The questionnaire evaluated perceived risk and perceived consequences, trust in authorities, and the participants' preparedness level against earthquakes and tsunamis.The findings reveal that international tourists perceived lower risk and consequences and higher trust in authorities than national tourists and residents. On the contrary, residents demonstrated higher levels of preparedness, reflecting their familiarity with the hazards and evacuation signage. The results highlight the importance of personalized strategies to increase tourist preparedness (both national and international). Implications and strategies are addressed in the study.

Data-driven mathematical simulation analysis of emergency evacuation time in smart station's operations management.

This research establishes an emergency evacuation time model specifically designed for subway stations with complex structures. The model takes into account multiple factors, including passenger flow rate, subway facility parameters, and crowd density, to accurately assess evacuation times. It considers the impact of horizontal walking distance, flow rate, subway train size, and stair parameters on the overall evacuation process. By identifying bottleneck points such as gates, car doors, and stairs, the model facilitates the evaluation of evacuation capacity and the formulation of effective evacuation plans, particularly in multiline subway transfer stations. The good consistency is achieved between the calculated evacuation time and simulated results using the Pathfinder software (with the relative error of 5.4%). To address urban traffic congestion and enhance subway station safety, the study recommends implemented measures for emergency diversion and passenger flow control. Additionally, the research presents characteristic mathematical models for various evacuation routes by considering the structural and temporal characteristics of metro systems. These models provide valuable guidance for conducting large-scale passenger evacuation simulations in complex environments. Future research can further enhance the model by incorporating psychological factors, evacuation signage, and strategies for vulnerable populations. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of evacuation dynamics and provides practical insights to improve safety and efficiency in subway systems.

Smart Design for Evacuation Signage Layout for Exhibition Halls in Exhibition Buildings Based on Visibility

The reasonable placement of evacuation signage is an important means to improve the efficiency of evacuation in the exhibition halls of exhibition buildings. The booths in exhibition halls are arranged and changed frequently for different exhibitions, which means that the evacuation paths are not fixed. Most people are also unfamiliar with the exhibition hall environment. In case of fire, earthquake, or other emergencies, people need to quickly escape to the safety exit, adhering to the guidance of evacuation signage. Existing evacuation signs are located according to the standards and the experience of the designers, and the locations of the signs are fixed and do not change with the changes in the booth layout, which means that the signage can be easily obscured by the booths, affecting the signage identification. Based on the visibility of evacuation signage, a smart design method of evacuation signage layout is proposed in this paper that can be adapted to different forms of booth arrangements in exhibition halls. This method establishes a key goal of achieving the full coverage of the visibility range of evacuation passages with the minimum number of evacuation signs. In the context of the actual visibility range of evacuation signage being blocked by booths in a three-dimensional space, this method finds the optimal number and best locations of evacuation signs by using a genetic algorithm. Finally, a case is given to verify the effectiveness of the method. This smart design for evacuation signage layout can enhance the guidance ability of evacuation signage in exhibition halls and improve the efficiency of evacuation.

Morphology control and synthesis of afterglow materials with a SrAl2O4 framework synthesized by Surfactant-Template and hydrothermal methods

Afterglow materials, which are also known as persistent emitters, have a long emission lifetime that varies from seconds to tens of minutes. These materials have shown potential applications in photoenergy conservation devices such as evacuation signage and emitting lines in a motorway surface. In this study, we synthesized afterglow materials, Eu2+, Dy3+@SrAl2O4, wherein the emitting agents (Eu2+ and Dy3+) are co-doped in a SrAl2O4 framework, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The liquid-state reaction process plays a crucial role in the synthesis of materials. When the surfactant-template method is used for synthesis, reverse micelles, which control the morphology of afterglow product, hold the raw reactant materials, thereby yielding characteristic morphologies of approximately 40–80 nm. The reverse micelles have been detected by small-angle X-ray scattering in this study. In contrast, the hydrothermal method produces morphologies up to approximately 2–3 μm. Results suggest that both the synthetic routes yield similar emission spectra and mean afterglow time of ~ 10 s.

Retracing evacuation strategy: A virtual reality game-based investigation into the influence of building’s spatial configuration in an emergency

ABSTRACT During evacuation, individual navigation behavior is often dictated by the legibility of evacuation signs and the environmental setting itself. People tend to follow previously-used and known routes (to retrace) rather than follow evacuation signage. This has proven undesirable, even fatal, in emergencies and such behavior calls for a better understanding of the influencing factors. This contribution consists of a virtual reality experiment in which 72 participants evacuated from a hotel building in which the spatial configurations were altered. The tendency to retrace diminished when the evacuation route led through a wider, straight corridor, suggesting that the building’s spatial configuration has an important influence on retracing and should be more carefully considered in the design of buildings in and agent-based simulations.

Assessing the compliance with the direction indicated by emergency evacuation signage

The type and relative position of evacuation signage to evacuees’ location can affect their likelihood to understand and comply with the information provided. To address this issue, a Virtual reality (VR) experiment with 60 participants was carried out to investigate the effect of signage vs viewer placement on the compliance with the indicated direction in case of evacuation. The VR experiments were conducted with a head mounted display. Different independent variables linked to the signage placement/type were investigated in a VR underground square scenario, namely (1) the installation position (i.e., distance, angle of interaction), and (2) the arrow type in use on the signage. Participants selected evacuation routes in VR and a questionnaire investigating their degree of confidence regarding their choice was performed. Results show that the angle of interaction affects the evacuees’ chosen direction. Participants showed a higher degree of confidence when the arrow pointed towards the centre of the route. In addition, after a distance of 2.0 m from the centre, the correct answer rate of the evacuation signage for the cases of arrows pointing left, right and up become comparable. The use of an up arrow performed as well as the use of left and right arrows, while an arrow pointing down was not as clearly understood. The concept of visible area ratio is suggested to evaluate the compliance with the direction indicated by evacuation signage. The result is supported by the relationship between the lateral position of the signage and the calculated angle of interaction.

Follow the evacuation signs or surrounding people during building evacuation, an experimental study

Evacuation signage plays a vital role in building evacuation. In order to test the efficiency of evacuation signage, the traditional methods are video analysis and after-drill questionnaires and the human factors are rarely considered. This paper investigates the impact of surrounding pedestrians on the sign guidance efficiency during building emergency evacuation, replacing the traditional ways with eye tracking device method. More than 500 participants were involved in the series of experiments to test the influence of surrounding people on detecting and following signages. It is found that (a) the subjective ignorance and objective ignorance of signs exist obviously and are affected by surrounding people number; (b) strangers and acquaintances have similar effect on the sign detection probability and direction choosing probability in the safe and quick evacuation experiments, contrary to general belief; (c) One surrounding person has an important influence on the sign guidance effect, especially on the following probability, while three surrounding people not. Based on the results of the experiments, a new logic of wayfinding within rooms was put forward and simulated to compared with the original logic. It is shown that the average right direction choosing percentage decreases by 30% after considering the effect of surrounding pedestrians, proving that the impact of surrounding pedestrians must be considered in evacuation modeling and evacuation route design.

Optimal number and location planning of evacuation signage in public space

The smooth and fast evacuation of a pedestrian group is dependent on guidance services provided by signage systems. This paper investigates the location method of an evacuation signage system in a public space. We proposed a calculation method to determine the guidance efficiency of signage and further present a piece-wise probability function to explain interactions between pedestrians and signage. The interaction between one pedestrian and one signage was extended to the interaction between a pedestrian crowd and a signage system. A location model of the signage system was proposed to determine the minimum number of signs necessary to meet guidance demands. The location model was based on the Cooperative Location Set Cover Problem (CLSCP) and was correspondingly solved by a proposed exponential binary heuristic search algorithm (EBHS), i.e., a combined exponential binary search method and a heuristic search algorithm for solving the Cooperative Maximum Cover Location Problem (CMCLP). Finally, the proposed model was applied to determine the location of an evacuation signage system in a hall. The parameters used in the location model were calibrated based on experimental data. The model results showed that the proposed model can suggest the optimal number and best locations of signs. A sensitivity analysis showed that the guidance capacity of the signage system can be increased by improving the attractiveness of signage and pedestrian trust and familiarity with environment. The same number of signs is suggested for evacuation scenarios wherein crowd following behavior is present.

A visibility-based assessment of tsunami evacuation signs in Seaside, Oregon

Tsunami risk mitigation programs often include iconic evacuation signage to direct locals and visitors to safety during a tsunami event. This paper examines sign placement in Seaside, Oregon, from a visibility perspective. It leverages existing visibility analysis methodologies characterize the visibility of the community’s evacuation signage and reveals patterns in the viewable landscape. Additionally, we develop a topologically 3D approach to visibility analysis using raw LiDAR datasets. This applied work situates a discussion on existing patterns of visibility, how to improve existing signage placement, 2D and 3D representation of landscape, and the importance of visibility analysis. This work aims to stimulate discussion and development of hazard research that incorporates a visibility perspective.

公路隧道蓄能自发光型防火灾应急逃生系统

本文分析公路隧道事故特点及多发原因，论述我国目前公路隧道防火、安全逃生设计要求及存在的问题、运营期隧道应急救援措施及问题；在此基础上提出设置隧道蓄能自发光型防火灾应急逃生系统的必要性，并分析蓄能自发光型防火灾应急逃生系统的系统组成、蓄能自发光型材料的技术要求和逃生引导标识；最后，结合我国目前公路隧道的应急逃生系统、应急救援措施，提出相应的建议。The features of road tunnel accidents and reasons for its frequent occurrence are analyzed; the problems that exist in the present requirements for fire prevention and emergency escape design of road tunnel are discussed. Accordingly, the necessity of equipping road tunnel with energy sto-rage self-illuminating system is pointed out. The composition, technical requirement of energy storage self-illuminating material, and evacuation signage are analyzed as well. Finally, some sug-gestions for present emergency escape system and emergency rescue measures of roads tunnel are proposed.

Evacuation Route Assessment Model for Optimization of Evacuation in Buildings with Active Dynamic Signage System

In this paper a model for active and dynamic people evacuation is presented. Proposed model optimizes evacuation process according to chosen evaluation factor. Model contains an algorithm for determining all possible evacuations plans which are represented as a sets of graphs. This two-layer approach allows for fast calculations, which can be conducted in a time short enough for the results to be used for active dynamic evacuation signage system. In certain times of the evacuation simulation or real evacuation, route assessment calculations are carried out. When the calculations are completed, the result is presented as a recommended direction of evacuation.

Flood Risk Communication from the Viewpoint of Disaster Prevention Awareness in an Urban Area of Tokyo, Kita Ward

Two types of flood risk communication – paper hazard maps and evacuation signage – were examined using a questionnaire survey, field survey, and map interpretation of the downstream Arakawa River area in Kita Ward, Tokyo. Respondents’ awareness of the flood dangers in the study area is high 76.5%of respondents but 33.1% of respondents accessed revised papermaps orWeb-basedmaps. The new measure, evacuation signage, showing predicted flood depth and the locations of designated evacuation shelters, was known only to 31.9% of respondents. This study showed that the recognition of evacuation signage is as low as that of revised flood hazardmaps. Although signage is beneficial, it is difficult to notice due to overlapping advertising signs. In addition, there are many unsuitable evacuation routes on paper maps. The distance between evacuation signage and evacuation shelters was more than 1.5 km for 69.4% of all evacuation routes. The administrative office should reconsider installation locations and the content of signage.

Decision on Tsunami Evacuation Route in Tourism Area: A case study of Had Patong, Phuket

In the wake of the devastating 2004 tsunami, a number of researches shifted their focus to disaster prevention, management and alleviation strategies. Most studies developed their plans through reviewing and modeling the characteristics of the great tidal wave. This study from Phuket Island, nonetheless, investigated the other side of the subject from the evacuees' perspective. Route choice decision and its governing factors were determined. Their relationship to socioeconomic characteristics of local residents and foreign tourists were analyzed and quantified using a three-way contingency table technique. The study found an astonishing fact of an insignificant role of evacuation signage in guiding the evacuation route, as compared to individual instinct and the crowd reaction. The conclusion of the study would be the first step to help understand the crowd behavior and to help establish an effective evacuation measures under this specific emergency situation.

北海道日高・十勝・根釧地域における津波避難標識に関する台帳

北海道日高・十勝・根釧地域における津波避難標識に関する台帳