Prior to this work, MASSVAC (MASS eVACuation) had evolved as a micro-computer simulation model for analysis and evaluation of areas facing natural disasters (hurricanes and floods). Conceptual and technical enhancements have been made to procedures within MASSVAC to deal with the special problems of evacuating around nuclear power stations. Its incorporation into TEDSS-3 (Transportation-Evacuation Decision Support System) has resulted in a powerful tool to assist development of evacuation plans for nuclear power plants. The computer package comprehensively provides for all functions related to evacuation planning such as development of a socioeconomic and highway network database, estimation of evacuation time and development/evaluation of traffic management strategies to reduce network clearance times and to improve highway network performance during evacuation. Primary focus is on the new features incorporated into MASSVAC, especially in the trip distribution and traffic assignment procedures. Significant improvements have been made to the software implementations of the Dial traffic assignment and other key algorithms used in MASSVAC. The information content of the model's output has been enhanced for better understanding of the evacuation process and presentation of results. / Master of Science

Catastrophic event emergency planning has emerged as one of the most important operations management areas. Much of the successes of a response plan rely on the ability to maintain an operating transportation infrastructure. In recent years urban areas have become susceptible to biological terrorist attacks due to their size and demographics. To mitigate the devastating effects of an attack, a comprehensive catastrophic event response plan is devised. The characteristics of the disease (dormant periods, signs/symptoms), daily traffic operations and trip distributions, patient-choice hospital modeling and emergency center corridor optimization are all elements of an effective response plan. Simulation and optimization modeling of this plan becomes a faster-than-real-time tool in replicating urban area degradation. Therefore, allowing planners to identify "worst case scenarios" within the network and implement Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) techniques and a non-linear departure time slot allocation mathematical model ensuring infected populations receive treatment and/or vaccinations efficiently. / by William C. Degnan. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Catastrophic events in the past revealed the need for more research in the field of emergency evacuation. During such a procedure, different problems such as congestion at the related traffic networks because of the large number of the evacuating vehicles can occur. Current best practices, in order to deal with such problems, suggest the further involvement of buses in evacuation operations. On the first part of this study after the accurate development of the related simulation model, the optimization of a selected bus system characteristics focusing on the vehicle routing parameter will follow through the development and the application of a non-linear cost minimization problem. On the second part, the potential use of the regular-everyday bus routes in a no-notice emergency evacuation in order to save time comparing to the time needed so as to assign the actual evacuation routes to the evacuation bus vehicles will be analyzed. / by Ioannis Psarros. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

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This thesis presents hypothetical return plans for hurricane evacuees who have previously evacuated their residence in southern Rhode Island. Using Geographic Information Systems software, appropriate time tables for evacuees to return to their homes are generated. Two case scenarios based on Category 3 and 4 intensity hurricanes making landfall in Westerly, Rhode Island were simulated. Over the last century, population and especially home values in coastal Rhode Island have increased leaving great risk to those in the area. Statistically, hurricanes are less likely to strike Rhode Island than the Gulf Coast or the Southeastern United States. However, within the last century dangerous and damaging hurricanes have affected Rhode Island. This lower frequency of hurricanes decreases awareness and emphasizes the need for further research. Reentry zones for each scenario are defined and ranked by severity of damage using debris, building damage, potential economic loss and population displacements with HAZUS software. Results from both Category 3 and Category 4 test cases show that the downtown census tract experiences the greatest amount of damage and longest return times for evacuees. / Department of Geography

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2008. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Sept. 10, 2009). Thesis advisor: Bruce Ralston. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

In 1939, when Germany mobilized its military against neighboring Poland, LDS missionaries were notified to evacuate their missions. In August 1940, the full-time missionaries in the South African and Pacific missions were also evacuated because of the spread of hostilities in Europe. Later the missionaries were released from the missions in South America. By 1943 the only missionaries serving outside of North America were in Hawaii.All of the more than eight hundred missionaries were transported at Church expense to America, where they were either reassigned to missions within the United States or released to return to their homes. All this was accomplished without serious illness or accident. This thesis recounts their activities, experiences, and problems. Special research emphasis has been given to personal interviews and contemporary journal accounts.

The goal of this research is to develop a heuristic traffic assignment method to simulate the traffic flow of a transportation network at a real-time speed. The existing assignment methods are reviewed and a heuristic path-recording assignment method is proposed. Using the new heuristic assignment method, trips are loaded onto the network in a probabilistic approach for the first iteration; paths are recorded, and path impedance is computed as the basis for further assignment iteration. The real-time traffic assignment model developed with the new assignment method is called HEUPRAE. The difference in link traffic between this new assignment and Dial's multipath assignment ranges from 10 to 25 percent. Saving in computer time is about 55 percent. The proposed heuristic path-recording assignment is believed to be an efficient and reliable method. Successful development of this heuristic assignment method helps solve those transportation problems which need assignment results at a real-time speed, and for which the assignment process lasts a couple of hours. Evacuation planning and operation are well suited to the application of this real-time heuristic assignment method. Evacuation planning and operations are major activities in emergency management. Evacuation planning instructs people where to go, which route to take, and the time needed to accomplish an evacuation. Evacuation operations help the execution of an evacuation plan in response to the changing nature of a disaster. The Integrated Evacuation Decision Support System (IEDSS) is a computer system which employs the evacuation planning model, MASSVAC2, and the evacuation operation model, HEUPRAE, to deal with evacuations. The IEDSS uses computer graphics to prepare input and interpret output. It helps a decision maker analyze the evacuation system, review evacuation plans, and issue an evacuation order at a proper time. Users of the IEDSS can work on evacuation problems in a friendly interactive visual environment. The application of the IEDSS to the hurricane and flood problems for the city of Virginia Beach shows how IEDSS is practically implemented. It proves the usefulness of the IEDSS in coping with disasters. / Ph. D.

By conducting a field survey to collect and investigate the attributes and behaviour patterns of participants in the case event, the proposed model and simulation system were implemented. Three scenarios of different populations of involved agents were simulated on the finished system according to the sample data. Simulation results were analyzed and compared to the observed data. The simulation system was found to be capable of reproducing compatible dynamics of pedestrian flows. / Finally the conclusions of this thesis study were presented. / In order to implement the model, the layered behavioural simulation model was proposed for putting the decisions made from the behaviour model into action. By identifying the three layers sustaining the routing procedure at their respective levels, the evacuation route was finally converted to selecting stepping cells from adjacent neighbours. In this way a quick way-finding process can be achieved toward the ultimate destination, so that the global objectives are coordinated with local action decisions on the cell scale. With this simulation model, the framework of the geo-referenced agent-based system was proposed with technical details presented. This system was built directly on a GIS base and thus was able to conduct simulation in a real space environment and perform advanced GIS analysis inside the simulation. / In reviewing the existing evacuation models and simulation systems, it was found that although there have been remarkable advances in reproducing and analyzing many phenomena and the dynamics of pedestrian flow in evacuations, social psychological factors were not well considered. Theories and research in the social psychological field have indicated that these factors are essential in evacuation behaviour. Therefore the author examined the socio-economic factors relating to psychological responses through a literature review and explored the potential for integrating such factors into the agent based modelling approach. / Inspired by such concerns, the author proposed the individual cognitive behaviour model consisting of the Personalized Spatial Cognitive Road Network, which represents the diverse individual spatial knowledge of recognizable roads, and the Multiple Routing Strategies which incorporated individual preferences in selecting routing strategy. The proposed model follows the principle that pedestrians are considered to be composed of heterogeneous individuals, thus each pedestrian could have his or her own knowledge base and rules of behaviour. Two steps in constructing each component were presented respectively, with an integrated framework presented in the context of agent based modelling. / Public safety has become more and more important nowadays as tragic incidents, such as the 9/11 World Trading Centre attack, have caused a large number of causalities. It is critical to improve the capability of the security department for safely managing the crowd in response to an emergency. Conventional techniques investigating evacuation dynamics, such as the sand-box game utilized by Hong Kong police department preparing evacuation plans for the case event, are generally inadequate for providing sufficient support to crowd management. Enhancing the management practice by computer based simulation techniques has been attracting an increasing amount of research interests recently, as it can offer timely decision making assistance in changing situations compared to the conventional approaches. / Wu, Lei. / Advisers: Hui Lin; Bo Huang; Yee Leung. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-06, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 249-273). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

Bibliography: leaves 420 - 450. / x, 450 leaves [92] leaves of plates : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of History, 1995