Community-based evacuation routes for hydrometeorological hazards resilience: a case study of Ratnapura district in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Sri Lanka has endured many hydrometeorological hazards due to torrential rains and monsoonal rains. These events disrupt communication networks, obstruct roadways, and can result in resource misallocation. Thus, setting in place mechanisms that could enhance situational awareness is essential and beneficial in building resilience in disaster management. This study aims to minimize the loss of lives and improve living conditions for the displaced by strategically allocating resources. Our approach involves the development of a decision management system. This system serves the dual purpose of guiding civilians to the nearest evacuation shelter and aiding stakeholders, including local authorities and Red Cross volunteers, in coordinating rescue operations and resource distribution. The research employs a multi-phase methodology, the research conducts susceptibility analysis to identify flood-prone areas based on terrain, land use, and soil data. Leveraging Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite imagery, the inundation mapping phase assesses the flooding extent in Rathnapura, the selected study region. These maps are instrumental in optimizing evacuation routes and ensuring the secure movement of affected populations during flood events. The resulting flood risk map integrates with the system to generate the nearest evacuation route. This enables users to circumvent flooded areas inaccessible by land vehicles, ultimately saving crucial time in emergency situations. The data pertaining to the relocation of civilians to these evacuation shelters can be used by authorities to appropriately allocate food, water, medical supplies, and dry rations, and the route suggestion engine can be used in rescuing civilians stranded in their homes during floods. The Decision Management System in question was developed as a web application, which is currently being deployed on a local server with improvements underway to best serve the public and authorities.