Resilient evacuation infrastructure; an assessment of resilience toward natural hazards

Abstract

Purpose As evacuation is one of the most used response actions to such disasters, it is essential to understand correctly what a resilient evacuation would mean. One critical factor in evacuation resilience is the resilience level of evacuation infrastructures. Also, UN sustainable development has a goal to build resilient infrastructures. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of resilient evacuation infrastructures. Design/methodology/approach A systematic methodology for reviewing articles has been implemented to understand how vulnerable cities can be more prepared, especially for pedestrian evacuation. Findings This study has developed an evacuation scoring system framework for pedestrians to investigate evacuation infrastructure in terms of different resilience features, such as redundancy, safe-to-fail, readiness and capacity. The most practical evacuation system will be estimated. The output of this study can provide insight into a final output to provide the features of a successful pedestrian evacuation system for future policy drafting for infrastructure strategy decision-makers. Practical implications Climate change has made the risks of natural hazards such as tsunamis more intense for humans. Many people in the world live in hazardous environments and are susceptible to disasters. A community must be prepared to mitigate the destructive event and quickly respond to be called resilient. Originality/value This is an original work. The researcher has gone through a deep literature review and developed a cluster showing the features a resilient evacuation infrastructure should have.