K1. Evacuation Modelling: Technical and participatory advances

Research in evacuation modelling has been gathering pace spurred in part by recent emergencies brought about by natural events such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, The Japanese tsunami and nuclear disaster, Typhoon Yolanda and the New Zealand and Italian earthquakes, as well as those caused by man-made and technological incidents. With the expected increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters due to climate change, the changing demographics and distributions of populations, increasing urban sprawl, and the inability of transport infrastructure to keep up with increasing demand, the challenge for disaster management authorities and researchers to provide sound and responsive evacuation policies and procedures has never been greater. This session aims to provide a forum for researchers and industry to share and discuss current and proposed activities in evacuation modelling in Australia and overseas. This includes both technical and participatory aspects of evacuation modelling. The discussion is expected to present problems and hopefully solutions in behavioural modelling, timeline management, traffic modelling, return management, as well general disaster management issues.