Tsunami-induced traffic evacuation strategy optimization

Abstract An optimal traffic evacuation strategy is of practical importance to minimize potential devastating damages caused by tsunamis. In this study, we developed a tsunami-induced, network-wide traffic evacuation optimization strategy. A hierarchical evacuation structure is established to guide vehicle routing decisions. At the first stage of evacuation, the optimization objective is to minimize the maximum evacuation time for all the individual evacuees from affected areas to temporary shelter zones to satisfy their primary safety needs within the shortest time periods. At the second stage of evacuation, the optimization objective aims to minimize the total evacuation time of all the evacuees from temporary shelter zones to safe zones. The lexicographic minimax optimization and Tabu search techniques are adopted to obtain a unique solution. Numerical examples are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed model based on a real transportation network in Honolulu, Hawaii. The proposed evacuation strategy contributes to the state of the art by innovatively balancing the evacuation safety priority and the evacuation efficiency in the hierarchical evacuation structure. The research findings are helpful for decision makers to develop optimal tsunami-induced, network-wide traffic evacuation strategies.