Vertical Evacuation Research Articles

Building Vulnerability Analysis Due to Tsunami by Using Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment (PTHA): A Case Study of Pelabuhan Ratu, Sukabumi

Cities that vulnerable to tsunamis, including the village of Pelabuhan Ratu on the southern coast of West Java, Indonesia, are in dire need of adequate vertical evacuation structures. However, constraints regarding to limited funding and difficulties in finding affordable land have hindered the implementation efforts of such structures in several cities. This research aims to analyze building vulnerability to tsunami disasters and identify buildings that can serve as alternative tsunami evacuation options based on Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analysis (PTHA) in Pelabuhan Ratu. The research methodology involves mapping the Modified Building Tsunami Vulnerability (BTV) and connecting the numerical simulation results with fragility curves assumed for the Pelabuhan Ratu area. The numerical simulations were conducted using the Cornell Multi-Grid Coupled Tsunami Model (COMCOT). Various tsunami scenarios triggered by earthquakes with different magnitudes ranging from 8.5 to 9.0, with intervals of 0.1, were considered in the numerical simulations. The research findings indicates high probability of maximum tsunami height reaching 14.85 meters in a return period of 10,000 years, and 51.77 meters in return period of 30,000 years. Based on these results, it was found that a three-story minimarket built with concrete could be used as an evacuation facility in a 10,000-year return period.

Analysis of Evacuation Times Based on Changing the Arrangements of Neonatal Units in Postnatal Care Centers

This study aims to measure the changes in evacuation time, with respect to the arrangement of a neonatal unit in a postnatal care center, by using an evacuation simulation program for analysis. Currently, the “Mother And Child Health Care Act, 2022” prohibits the installation of postpartum care centers above the second floor, but more than 80% of existing centers are located on the third floor or higher, producing problems with vertical evacuation. There are also no regulations for the placement of the neonatal unit when only one neonatal unit is in operation. Therefore, in the event of a fire, crowding and confusion would produce problems when mothers are evacuating with their babies. Since there are no regulations regarding the distribution of neonatal rooms, postpartum nursing homes are operating only one neonatal room in order to cut costs. Therefore, in such a concentrated arrangement, in the event of a fire, crowding and confusion would produce problems when mothers are evacuating with their babies. Considering these issues, evacuation times were compared and analyzed by changing the layout of a postnatal care center. This included where there was only one neonatal unit, where the neonatal and postpartum units were distributed on the same floor, and where these units were distributed on separate floors. The results showed a significant difference in evacuation times for the proposed arrangements, ranging from 584.3s to 456.0s. Considering the safety of vulnerable newborns and mothers, regulations for low-floor layouts of postnatal care centers are necessary to ensure quick evacuation.

Performance of an RC building under seismic and tsunami actions in sequence via nonlinear dynamic analysis including soil-structure interaction

This research presents a methodology to study the behavior of buildings subjected to seismic and tsunami loading in sequence, considering soil structure interaction effects through a complete dynamic analysis. The case-study building is an RC frame, which is assumed to be located in a coastal city in Chile, and built on sandy soil. A 3D Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) model, including the non-linear behavior of both the structure and the soil using finite element method (FEM) was presented. Synthetic seismic ground motion records and tsunami inundation time histories were generated, consistent with the same earthquake source. Building performance was first assessed considering the SSI model for each hazard separately and compared to a Fixed Base (FB) model. Then, the SSI model was subjected to seismic and tsunami loading in sequence. Engineering Demand Parameters (EDPs) of roof displacement, interstory drift ratio (IDR) and reinforcement strain in beams and columns were analyzed. These EDPs presented a larger response to the tsunami when the response to the previous earthquake was larger. Finally, two vertical evacuation building scenarios were studied: the location of the refugees and the effect of an aftershock occurring simultaneously with the tsunami inundation. Results showed that the location of the refugees did not generate significant differences in the building response, and the aftershock increased the response only when it coincided with the maximum tsunami force.

Childcare Center Evacuation to Vertical Shelters in a Nankai Trough Tsunami: Models to Predict and Mitigate Risk

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake, vertical evacuation shelters (VES) were constructed to reduce tsunami risk. Childcare centers (CCs) in the inundation area are required to evacuate to the nearest VES in the event of a tsunami. The study aim was to identify CCs and VES predicted to be inundated by a Nankai Trough earthquake-generated tsunami, and to clarify CC inundation risk. We identified 52 (45.6%) CCs in the tsunami inundation area and found that 14 (25.9%) would evacuate toward the tsunami. If the walking speed was 2.24 km/h and a 0.3 m tsunami arrived in 10 min, nine (17.3%) CCs would be late to safe evacuation. If the tsunami arrival time was 20 min, four (7.7%) CCs would have late evacuation. At a walking speed of 1.00 km/h, 38 (73.1%) and 20 (38.5%) CCs would have late evacuation, with tsunami arrival times of 10 min and 20 min, respectively. Evacuation direction is important in avoiding tsunami damage. An evacuation strategy is needed that evacuates people away from the tsunami, and takes into account children’s age, walking speed, and evacuation method. The evaluation of tsunami risk in this study may support the development of tsunami countermeasures in other coastal areas with latent tsunami risks.

‘Fall girl’: Vertical evacuation and the aesthetics of emergency

When the Conservative Member of Parliament and Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg complained on London’s LBC radio that the 72 victims of the 2017 Grenfell fire did not use common sense and simply leave the building, and that he could not understand how it had ‘anything to do with race or class’, he fell into a trap which is now at least 150 years old. This has seen the art and act of evacuating – especially tall buildings – blamed on the evacuees themselves. It is also revealing of an aesthetics of erasure which silences a classed, raced and gendered politics which has served to render certain subjects and bodies as not only victims, but culpable. The vertical evacuee has been considered too slow, too big, too indecisive, too passionate, too weak, too much, too many – too inadequate. In this paper, and in building on a wider politics of verticality and mobility, I pull on several threads of the gendered and raced geographies of high-rise vertical evacuation focusing particularly on the solidaristic movements and expressions of the workers. The paper explores the history of tall building evacuations, focusing on early high-rise factory fires, their investigation, and subsequent changes to fire regulation, building technologies and working practices in North America which affected predominantly young, female and migrant working labour.

Effects of Tsunami Shelters in Pandeglang, Banten, Indonesia, Based on Agent-Based Modelling: A Case Study of the 2018 Anak Krakatoa Volcanic Tsunami

On 22 December 2018, the volcanic eruption of Anak Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait, Indonesia, triggered a tsunami causing 437 deaths. The highest death toll and the second highest number of damaged houses were recorded in Panimbang. This study proposes optimum evacuation shelters to reduce the mortality rate. A digital elevation model (DEM) and information dataset are used. The suggested horizontal evacuation shelters (HESs) are places of worship, schools, and government offices. Multimodal agent-based modelling (ABM), to analyse the sensitivity of parameters and the effect of vertical evacuation shelters (VESs) under multiple scenarios, is presented for the volcanic tsunami in December 2018. A tsunami hazard map is created by combining relative weights and parameter scores for topography, slope, and the distance from the shoreline and rivers. In the ABM results, the transportation mode choice depicts a significant decrease in the number of casualties. The mortality rate is sensitive to the milling time caused by delay time τ and agent decision-making time σ. VESs are proposed at the hot spots based on the location of deaths in the sensitivity tests and the high and very-high risk zones in the hazard map. As a result, combinations of VESs and HESs show a decrement in the number of deaths by 1.2–2 times compared to those with HESs only. The proposed VESs in the study area have a significant positive impact on decreasing the mortality rate.

Emergency Response to a Hospital Fire: A Report From the Field

AbstractAs the most important centers providing medical services during disasters and emergencies, hospitals have special structural complexities. Furthermore, the hospitals are exposed to many intrinsic and extrinsic hazards, including fire. On November 28, 2018, at 9:25 am (local time), a fire started in Ayatollah Taleghani Hospital of Ilam, affiliated with Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Immediately, to save patients’ lives and prevent injuries to them, the horizontal and then vertical evacuation was performed to transfer patients to other hospitals by helping the support organizations. No physical injuries or deaths were reported in this incident. The results of this case study showed that hospitals should be sufficiently prepared to respond effectively to accidents and disasters, so it is needed to prepare and practice response programs and train hospital staff and managers.

Perceptions of tsunami susceptibility and self-efficacy among adolescents in Indonesia: The influence of gender, religion, location, age, hazard information source, and past experience

Perceptions of tsunami susceptibility and self-efficacy among adolescents in Indonesia: The influence of gender, religion, location, age, hazard information source, and past experience.The densely populated Indonesian archipelago is highly vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis. Behavioral theory suggests perceived susceptibility and perceived self-efficacy are positively correlated with preventive behaviors. We surveyed adolescents (N = 2386) in tsunami-vulnerable coastal areas of Java, Bali, Lombok, and Sumba Indonesia. We conducted a stepwise logistic regression analysis of perceived tsunami susceptibility and self-efficacy. Explanatory variables included sex, age, religion, island of residence, hazard information source, previous participation in tsunami evacuation drills, and personal tsunami experience. The majority (60.6%) of participants believed that they were susceptible to an earthquake. About half of participants believed they were susceptible to a tsunami (49.8%) and that they would be able to save themselves if a tsunami occurred (48.5%). Individuals residing in Java, females, Muslims, older participants, and those who received tsunami information from the Internet and Indonesia's regional governmental disaster management agency (BPBD) were significantly more likely to feel susceptible to a tsunami. Catholics, Protestants, individuals living in Java, those who participated in past tsunami evacuation drills, and those with personal tsunami experience had significantly higher perceived self-efficacy. Females and participants who received hazard-related information from the Internet and BPBD had significantly lower perceived self-efficacy. Our study highlights the importance of providing culturally competent information about local tsunami risk to vulnerable locations through a variety of communication channels. Identifying cultural, economic, and religious barriers is important when developing educational interventions. Efficacy perceptions should be improved through education about immediate self-evacuation after observation of tsunami natural warning signs, construction of vertical evacuation structures in coastal areas, and encouraging participation in tsunami evacuation drills.

Location problems of vertical evacuation structures for dam-failure floods: Considering shelter-in-place and horizontal evacuation

The increasing threat of unpredictable and no-notice disasters due to climate change, such as tsunamis, wildfires, and dam-failure floods, should call for more attention to disaster management. These disasters leave limited time for the affected population to respond. Hence, Shelter-In-Place (SIP) strategies have been suggested to complement large-scale evacuation, aiming to secure individuals within local communities immediately. In the problem context of dam-failure floods, the priority of SIP is to elevate the individuals above the flooded ground, and Vertical Evacuation Structures/Shelters (VESs) are designed to contain these SIP evacuees. However, a portion of the flood-affected population cannot be accommodated because of the limited capacities of VESs. Accordingly, these evacuees must evacuate outside the flooded area, known as Horizontal Evacuation (HE). This study formulates the VES location problem considering VE and HE: the established VESs will cover as many evacuees as possible and reduce the system evacuation time for HE. The VES locations and the HE evacuee assignment are interdependent, as reflected by factoring individual evacuation time. Therefore, this study develops a bi-level programming model to address the interdependence. Furthermore, a heuristic algorithm is proposed to analyze the evacuation time for evacuees at each node. The bi-level model is verified using the network of Tucheng District, New Taipei City, Taiwan, impacted by dam-failure floods. Results show that the total evacuation time can be reduced significantly after integrating HE into VES planning.

Measures to Enhance Evacuation Safety of Nursing Hospitals Through Evacuation Simulation

This study allows comparative analysis of the evacuation time required for nursing hospitals using an evacuation simulation program and proposes an optimized procedure to enhance safety. Considering the current laws and regulations that nursing hospitals may be exempted from using ramps or elevators, this study analyzed the evacuation time of all occupants, including patients who cannot evacuate by themselves. The following three cases were analyzed in order: elevators were exempt but ramps were installed, ramps were exempt but elevators that can move a bed were installed, and both elevators and ramps were installed. Last, the study comparatively analyzed the evacuation time for the above-mentioned cases when an additional evacuation space was installed. The results of the evacuation simulation showed that the required evacuation time was the shortest when a ramp, an elevator, and an evacuation space were all installed. Although there are provisions exempting ramps or elevators in nursing hospitals, the law should be revised to require the installation of both of them in nursing hospitals of two floors or higher. It is also an appropriate time to discuss the retroactive enforcement of evacuation space—which replaces the vertical evacuation of those vulnerable during evacuation—currently required for newly built or change-of-use nursing hospitals.

An agent-based model of short-notice tsunami evacuation in Waikiki, Hawaii

Evacuation planning is an essential part of transportation resilience. It is necessary to understand transportation systems and human behavior to plan for safe evacuation. This study estimates populations exposed to harm, clearance times and fatalities for short-notice evacuation for a catastrophic tsunami event. An Agent-Based Model (ABM) is developed and tested for Waikiki, Hawaii, with three travel modes: pedestrian, bicycle, and motor vehicles. The modeled environment includes the road network, tsunami inundation zones, and building footprints with vertical and horizontal evacuation destinations. Significant loss of life (38,760 persons) is estimated to occur with a catastrophic short-notice tsunami event. A new bridge over the Ala Wai Canal will create an additional exit route that could save 13,860 lives. Shortening tsunami detection and alert times by half would save 4,510 lives over the baseline, do-nothing scenario. Vertical evacuation is most effective and is estimated to save 55,770 lives. In addition to the importance to evacuation planning, the research using ABM supports longer term investment in transportation imnprovements, mitigation and adaptation.

Evacuation Optimization Strategy for Large-Scale Public Building Considering Plane Partition and Multi-Floor Layout.

Large-scale public buildings (e.g., stadiums and comprehensive hospitals) in modern cities provide places for various social activities. However, all of these public places encounter the scenario of large passenger flow and crowd gathering, which is highly likely to induce serious safety problems, such as stampedes. Previous studies have shown that efficient evacuation is an important way to ensure the safety of dense crowds in public places. This study aims to explore the optimization methods to improve the evacuation efficiency of public buildings. Two strategies considering plane partition and multi-floor layout are proposed for plane evacuation and vertical evacuation, respectively. Simulation scenarios and models of large stadiums and high-rise hospitals are established to verify the strategies. The results show that plane partition could effectively shorten the total evacuation time, which is due to the optimization of the initial exit choice of individuals and the avoidance of regional congestion in some evacuation channels or exits. Multi-floor layout optimization is an effective management method to arrange the different features of different floors, which could improve the evacuation efficiency for the whole multi-floor building. This study is helpful for building designers and managers to improve the building space layout design and the daily safety management mode.

An integrative agent-based vertical evacuation risk assessment model for near-field tsunami hazards.

This study couples FN-curves with Agent-based Modeling and Simulation (ABMS) to assess risk for tsunamis with various recurrence intervals . By considering both expected number of casualties and the likelihood of tsunami events, multiple series of simulations and in-depth analyses determine (1) how vertical evacuation structure (VES) placement impacts mortality rate; (2) what the best evacuation strategies VES locations are; and (3) where evacuees are likely to be caught by tsunami waves. The results from utilizing FN-curves to conduct disaggregative analyses based on six tsunami scenarios indicate that choosing one tsunami scenario or averaging the risk of different scenarios may not fully articulate VES impacts due to the "levee effect," which potentially leads to false positives. Findings show that placing VESs close to shorelines saves nearby at-risk populations, but also results in two risk increasing phenomena: "exposure to risk" (i.e., evacuees being attracted to high risk roads by a VES when evacuating) and "blind zones" (i.e., locations near a VES where evacuees increase their risk by evacuating to that VES). When limited to one VES, placement near a population's centroid results in the lowest mortality rate. More than one VES may lower mortality rate further if VESs are spreading out according to community's topography. In addition to the analysis of tsunamis, the approach of coupling FN-curves with ABMS can be used by local authorities and engineers to determine tailored hard-adaptive measures and evacuation strategies, which helps to avoid maladaptive actions in different hazardousevents.

Tsunami Preparedness: Is Zero Casualties Possible?

Inspired by the goal of Kuroshio Town, a coastal community in southern Japan, to have zero casualties from the next tsunami, this study will focus on a tsunami preparedness program to save everyone’s life. The first step in the program is to determine how many people in a tsunami hazard zone can be protected using existing horizontal and vertical evacuation procedures and shelters. The people who live or work in tsunami hazard zones but cannot or will not use these shelters are identified as “unprotected”. A possible solution to save the “unprotected” is to offer a shelter-in-place option to complement the horizontal and vertical evacuation options. Such a shelter-in-place option would provide protection for those unable or unwilling to use horizontal or vertical evacuation facilities. The shelter-in-place option would offer customized protection for individuals and businesses free of contagious diseases found in gatherings associated with horizontal or vertical evacuation shelters. To be effective, the shelter-in-place option must be immediately accessible to protect people from drowning, being crushed, being hit by floating objects, suffocation by ingesting silt laden water, fires, and hypothermia. An example of a shelter-in-place product is a patented, spherical aluminum capsule that floats on the tsunami protecting people from fire, cold water, being crushed, ingesting contaminated water, being hit by floating objects, and drowning. Since the capsule floats, there is no need to accurately predict tsunami flooding heights. This study includes numerical model simulations for 20 capsules subjected to 3 tsunami flooding scenarios in Newport, Oregon indicating the capsules have a low probability of being washed out to sea. Using a shelter-in-place option, along with horizontal and vertical evacuation options, zero casualties from the next tsunami is possible.

Development of fragility curve due to the effect of tsunami force on existing building in Banda Aceh city

Aceh is located on the Indian Ocean Coast which is very prone to Tsunamis, this is due to frequent large earthquakes due to Megatrust faults, such as those that occurred during the earthquake on December 26, 2004. Based on the 2012 Aceh earthquake, the Acehnese prefer horizontal evacuation to vertical evacuation [1]. In this case, many people in Banda Aceh do not believe in the strength of TVE buildings (distrust building). From this research, it it is possible for the Acehnese will do the same thing in the future when the tsunami occurs. Horizontal evacuation puts them at risk of traffic accidents so that they cannot reach a safe area in a short time, whereas through vertical evacuation they can reach the TVE of a building in a short time due to its proximity to settlements. When the earthquake and tsunami occured Banda Aceh in 2004, many buildings were destroyed due to the earthquake load and also the Tsunami load. For this problem, a vulnerability analysis of buildings that can be used as TVE buildings can be carried out. If an earthquake magnitude more than 7.0 Mw can cause a tsunami, the TVE building should be counted on the structural strength caused by the Tsunami waves. In this research, a hydrodynamic analysis will be carried out due to air pressure and collision which is a function of velocity and depth of flow and also the influence of drag and drift variables on the building.

Development of fragility curve based on incremental dynamic analysis curve using ground motion Aceh earthquake

History records that Aceh has been hit by earthquakes several times, including the largest recorded, on December 26, 2004 with a magnitude of 9.3 SR. In connection with the history of disasters that have occurred, there is a need for safety and disaster preparedness. It is very important to conduct a feasibility study of the existing public buildings used in disaster preparedness for vulnerability against earthquakes. The type of building damage caused can predicted by referring to the fragility curve. This research conducted on evaluating the seismic performance of existing buildings in Banda Aceh City by developing a fragility curve based on Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA). The existing buildings that are the main focus of this study include the Tsunami Vertical Evacuation (TVE) of Lambung, TVE Alu Deah Teungoh, TVE TDMRC, SDN 48 Banda Aceh, SMPN 11 Banda Aceh, Baiturrahim Ulee Lheu Mosque, and the Subulussalam Punge Mosque. The IDA method is applied to predict and estimate the performance of the structure using several ground motions. The resulting set of IDA curves were further analyzed to form the fragility curve. The fragility curve becomes the basis for assessing the seismic performance of building structures rationally.

출입문 임시폐쇄에 따른 피난시간 변화에 관한 연구

This study analyzed the evacuation time of occupants before and after the temporary closing of the entrance to building among educational research facilities in order to understand time of occupants when the entrance of an existing building is temporarily closed for control purposes. The results are as follows. Firstly, the occupants evacuated through the adjacent door after vertical evacuation using the stairs and the three doors used were adjacent to the stairs before the temporary closing of the door. In particular, it was confirmed that the entrances located at both ends of the building were not used by occupants for evacuation because they were far apart from the stairs. Secondly, after the temporary closing of the door, the occupants start evacuation without recognizing the locked state of the door. As they evacuate again, the time required to complete the evacuation increases and the time required due to restrictions on the available doors is accumulated. Thirdly, it was confirmed that the difference in evacuation completion time between the occupants before and after the temporary closure of the entrance door was about 2.2 times. In particular, the number of evacuees per hour is up to ten simultaneously evacuating at the same time before the temporary closure, but up to three simultaneously evacuating at the same time after the temporary closure. Thus, the number of entrances has a significant impact on evacuation. Lastly, for the convenience of blocking the inflow of COVID-19, creating an electronic list for users and checking temperature, it is necessary to install devices such as “automatic opening and closing of entrances” to ensure the safety of occupants in emergencies such as fires.

휠체어 동반 무동력 비상탈출장치 개발

The purpose of this study is to develop a vertical evacuation mechanism that enables disabled persons using wheelchairs to escape from the disaster site while in a wheelchair when they need emergency evacuation. Since the elevator cannot be used at the disaster site due to a power outage, a non-motorized vertical evacuation mechanism is required. This research and development product is a vertical evacuation mechanism in which a user in an electric wheelchair with a weight of 150 kg or more descends one floor at a time by connecting an elevator carrier to two pillars. Since the weight of wheelchair users is different, it was developed to operate at the speed of ascent and descent in the range of 40~130 cm/sec depending on the user

Evaluasi Struktur Bangunan Pasar Inpress Blok IV Gedung B dengan Metode Pushover

AbstractInpres market block IV Pasar Raya Padang is not designed as a shelter building, but is designated as a vertical evacuation site when a tsunami occurs. This study aims to evaluate the structural performance of Inpress market block IV zone B. The method used for this research is the pushover analysis method. According to FEMA P-646/2019, vertical evacuation refuge structures are included in tsunami risk category IV, based on the risk category the maximum performance level is at the Immediate Occupancy (IO). For loads on buildings, refer to SNI 1727:2020 and SNI 1726:2019 for earthquake loads. For the calculation of the capacity of concrete structural elements, refer to SNI 2847:2019. Structural analysis was carried out using the SAP2000 version 16. After analysis, based on performance points, drift ratio that occur due to earthquake loading in X-direction and Y-direction are 0,05875% and 0,0067%. The maximum total drift that occurs is smaller than that required by ATC-40 for the Immediate Occupancy performance level, which is 1%. Thus, the structure performance level is Immediate Occupancy. This means that the Inpress market block IV building is still strong enough against earthquake loads.

A Research of the Evacuate Behavior and Issues of Elderly Residents under Local Disaster Prevention and Response Works in Flooding Areas—A Case Study of 823 Flooding Evacuate of Elderly People in 3 Villages, Madou District, Tainan City

<p>本研究以台灣南部持續降雨的823水災為案例進行研究。研究者選取台南市麻豆區人口老化嚴重的北勢里、小埤里和埤頭里作為案例研究地點。並於2019年10月對里長、高齡者、麻豆區民政部門和其他縣市民政防救災單位相關承辦進行深入訪談，了解社區高齡者在水災時經驗與在災害過程中遇到的問題，及地區災害防救工作落實於高齡者避難收容實踐。 研究者共訪談了17位高齡者、里長2位與區公所相關承辦人員，受訪高齡者年齡在63至90歲之間。訪談結果顯示，水災對研究地區造成嚴重破壞，由於地區水位監測傳感器被洪水沖走，導致區公所錯過預先撤離機會，社區在具有自救能力居民協助下進行撤離。儘管社區平時有防災社區培訓，但因安全與財產損失歸屬問題，導致社區防災和疏散系統無法有效運作，區公所民政課與社區之間溝通不良，救援支持工作受阻。此外，由於地區受災嚴重，區公所缺乏足夠的救災資源和設備，需要外部援助（軍方）。但因無法及時提供救援，導致社區救災資源枯竭。高齡者與弱勢居民只能垂直避難並等待救援，進行二次或多次避難。 根據前述發現，當發生大規模洪災時，社區內部的相互救援和支持極為重要，可向高齡者提供直接和無障礙援助。防救災單位應當增加社區高齡者的主要聯絡人，確定防災和救災專業知識，並提供適當的專業培訓，使這些人可以作為向社區高齡者傳遞信息的橋樑。簡言之，前述措施可幫助高齡社區在災難期間實施自救工作。</p> <p> </p><p>This study selected three villages in Madou District, Tainan City - Beishih Village, Siaopi Village, and Pitou Village in 823 flood disaster to be the research site for analysis. These three villages face the common problem of a drastically aging population. The author conducted in-depth interviews to understand the problems faced by community elderly when prolonged flooding occurs, and to expound the issues encountered during the course of natural disasters. The author visited the three villages (in which Siaopi Village has merged into Pitou Village) to conduct interviews with elderly residents and 17 elderly residents were interviewed. The interview results indicate that the flood had caused serious damage in the study area. As the water level monitoring sensor of the area’s disaster prevention unit was swept away by the floodwaters, it was impossible to ascertain the extent of the damage caused by the heavy rainfall on the area. Consequently, no preventive evacuation measures were implemented and the decision to evacuate was made by the community, in conjunction with the assistance of residents with self-rescue capabilities. Despite regular training, due to flooding and property considerations, the community’s disaster prevention and evacuation system was inoperable, and there was a lack of communication and rescue and support efforts between the district office and the community. Moreover, owing to the size of the disaster area, the district office lacked sufficient disaster relief resources and equipment and required external assistance. However, the assistance was not provided in a timely manner and the community’s resources became depleted. The victims could only save themselves while awaiting the district office to transport them to the evacuation shelters. Based on the findings, the author deduced that when natural disasters occur, community elderly victims have a poor response capability and tend to delay their decision to evacuate. During a flooding event, they would prioritize vertical evacuation unless the water supply and power have been cut off from their homes, and they would only move to an evacuation shelter if they are unable to seek refuge somewhere near their homes. Moreover, the elderly residents had a propensity to rely on people they are familiar with to make their evacuation decisions. As a result, if the opportunity for pre-evacuation is missed, rescue efforts would become more difficult. Since most of the elderly residents had chronic diseases and regularly required medical treatment or health care, natural disasters are a threat to their lives and health. Some of them were even hard of hearing and could not articulate their words properly. It is often not possible to achieve effective information transfer. According to the findings, disaster prevention and relief units should also identify and provide adequate professional training on disaster prevention and relief for the key contact persons of elderly residents in a community, such that these people can serve as a bridge for conveying information to elderly victims. In short, these measures can assist aging communities to implement selfrescue efforts during disasters.</p> <p> </p>