Safety of Users in Road Evacuation: Simulation of a User Refuge Area

This paper discusses some of the results that were obtained in the SICURO research project especially with regard to users who evacuate with motorized modes due to a forthcoming disaster and their movement to an area of refuge. Evacuation produces temporary over-saturation of some supply components and creation/dispersion of queues, in particular upcoming and moving in the refuge area. To analyze this event two problems must be explored: access to the refuge area and the internal organization. The problems are studied by using deterministic and stochastic queuing theory. Calibration data were obtained from a real experiment executed in the urban area of Melito Porto Salvo in the province of Reggio Calabria (Italy). Finally a computer application was carried out to reproduce all the evacuation phases observed in the experimental test site of Melito Porto Salvo.