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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Maria Pregnolato, Professor Richard DawsonORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
© 2018 Civil responders currently have limited information available to them to support flood incident planning. A new generation of tools are emerging that produce more detailed understanding of flood impacts on people and accessibility during floods. These are typically applied in isolation, proving only a partial assessment of impacts. This paper integrates analysis of flood hydraulics, transport accessibility and human safety to explore the impact of flooding on pedestrians and drivers, and its implications on emergency routes and service areas. A reference scenario, developed and used by the local Civil Protection Agency, is applied to Galluzzo in Florence (Italy). Results shows that 37% of inhabitants live close to roads where they can be swept away, and 78% live in locations where parked vehicles can be transported by floodwaters. Furthermore, at its worst 22.5% of road extension is inaccessible; and all hospitals, fire and police stations cannot be reached, highlighting the need to take preventative action from the outset of an event that is predicted to lead to substantial inundation. Integration of multiple indicators of flood impacts, especially those most relevant to human safety, is fundamental to civil responders if they are to successfully planning and implement emergency response operations in urban environments.
Author(s): Arrighi C, Pregnolato M, Dawson RJ, Castelli F
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Science of the Total Environment
Year: 2019
Volume: 654
Pages: 1010-1022
Print publication date: 01/03/2019
Online publication date: 14/11/2018
Acceptance date: 12/11/2018
Date deposited: 10/12/2018
ISSN (print): 0048-9697
ISSN (electronic): 1879-1026
Publisher: Elsevier B.V.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.191
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.191
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