Optimal Location Identification for Emergency Evacuation Shelters using the Voronoi Diagram

Abstract

Recently, the frequency of earthquakes in Korea has increased; thus it is very important to select the location of an emergency shelter. Therefore, this study proposed a method for selecting an emergency shelter location using the Voronoi diagram, which is usefully used to identify the shortest route or divide jurisdictions. First, Yangsan-si, where the earthquake zone is located, was selected as the target site for the study area, and the evacuation facility area was analyzed using the Voronoi polygon considering an evacuation to nearby emergency shelters regardless of administrative districts. Next, examining the vulnerable portions of the study area based on the existing earthquake outdoor evacuation facility data and floating population data, it was confirmed that there was a large regional variation. Finally, the location of a new shelter in Yangsan-si was selected by quantifying the location data of the building where supply was insufficient and the distance between emergency evacuation facilities as weights. The analysis result showed that installing a total of 7 shelters was the most efficient. The results of this study are expected to contribute to selecting the location of a new evacuation facility and establishing an efficient evacuation plan in the future.