Cuckoo search algorithm for the evacuation strategy of people in flash floods using a spatiotemporal conditions weight

Abstract

Natural disasters are responsible for the destruction of infrastructures, detrimental environmental effects as well as the loss of lives in places around the world. In particular, flash floods can be disastrous both for habitants and the environment. Flooding pollutants contaminate water and corresponding negative impacts appeared on flora, fauna and people. In addition, space in cities is becoming lesser year-by-year and rivers disappeared due to anarchic buildings in urban areas. This results in flooding as the water cannot find another route to escape other than the streets of the area. In Attica region of Greece, flooding incidents occurred after flash storms and even losses of lives have been reported. This brings up the issue of civil protection and immediate evacuation of people in case of sudden floods in populated urban areas. The first responders need to act as fast as possible to avoid losses of lives and to minimize the negative environmental impacts. In this paper, we suggest a bio-inspired algorithm based on Cuckoo Search (CS) to find the best route between hazardous places based on a weighting metric that identifies the potential danger posed by flooding. Simulation experiments were conducted to evaluate the proposed approach for improving the overall effectiveness of the evacuation procedures implemented in flood-prone areas.