METHODOLOGY FOR IDENTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY ASSEMBLY AREAS AND ROAD NETWORK IN CITIES USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS TOOLS

9th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference - SGEM2009, www.sgem.org, SGEM2009 Conference Proceedings/ ISBN 10: 954-91818-1-2, June 14-19, 2009, Vol. 2, 135-142 pp

ABSTRACT

The SyNaRMa project realized under INTERREG IIIB Archimed resulted in the
development of a Web-based GIS (http://gserver.civil.auth.gr/SyNaRMa_app) for
management of natural disasters (earthquakes, forest fires and landslides). The
SyNaRMa system focuses on the three phases of disaster management, i.e.,
preparedness, response and recovery, improving the emergency plans applied by the
competent authorities in order to handle natural risks more effectively. A directive
process of preparedness realized in the frame of the SyNaRMa project is the
development of a methodology for defining population assembly areas used for
population gathering in case of emergency. A preparative plan in the event of an
earthquake should define assembly areas for gathering, the corresponding sections and
the road network used in emergency. Therefore, a multi- stage analysis was developed,
where descriptive data and digital maps of the test area are processed with ArcGIS
tools. In every stage of the analysis, criteria and restrictions as dictated by specifications
of a population assembly area are applied to the specific data. Available area, amount of
population that every area can serve, land use, location and basic infrastructures are
main factors being taken into account during the process. Thematic maps that point out
population assembly areas and the sections that they serve are results of the
methodology. Additionally, an emergency road network is defined according to some
restrictions set in order to secure the connection between main areas of the city. In
conclusion, defining emergency assembly areas and road network constitutes an
emergency plan, eliminating adverse consequences and protecting human life. In the
present paper, this methodology is described along with the results of a pilot application
that was implemented in the city of Grevena in Greece.

Keywords: GIS, SyNaRMa, disaster management, assembly areas, emergency plans