Browsing by Author "Mokrani, Cyril"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Examining the role of urban form in supporting rapid and safe tsunami evacuations: A multi-scalar analysis in Viña del Mar, Chile
    (2018) León, Jorge; Mokrani, Cyril; Catalán, Patricio; Cienfuegos Carrasco, Rodrigo Alberto; Femenías, Carolina
    Cities are increasingly becoming hot-spots for nature-originated disasters. While the role of the urban built environment in fostering disaster resilience has been recognized for some time, it has been difficult to translate this potential into practice. This is especially challenging in the case of rapid onset crises such as near-field tsunamis, when appropriate urban forms have to support the populations' ability to autonomously carry out safe and timely responses. In this respect, much of current research remains focused on large-scale elements of urban configuration (streets, squares, parks, etc.) through which people move during an emergency. In contrast, the critical micro-scale of evacuees' experiences within the built environment is not commonly examined. This paper addresses this shortfall through a macro- and micro-scale analysis of a near-field tsunami scenario affecting the city of Villa del Mar, Chile, including a mixed-methods approach that combines computer-based models and fieldwork. The results show significant macro-scale tsunami vulnerability throughout major areas of the city, which nonetheless could be mitigated by existing nearby high ground and an urban form that allows short evacuation times. However, micro-scale outcomes show comparatively deficient spatial conditions that during an emergency might lead to dangerous outcomes including bottlenecks, falls and panic. Vertical evacuation, in turn, is confirmed as a suitable option for reducing vulnerability, but further examination of each shelter's characteristics is required. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    From urban form analysis to metrics for enhancing tsunami evacuation: Lessons from twelve Chilean cities
    (ELSEVIER, 2021) Leon, Jorge; Vicuna, Magdalena; Ogueda, Alonso; Guzman, Simon; Gubler, Alejandra; Mokrani, Cyril
    In the case of near-field tsunami emergencies, evacuation is considered the most important and effective method to save human lives. While significant efforts have been carried out to examine the relationships between urban forms and tsunami evacuation, challenges remain on delivering evidence-based urban design strategies, principles or metrics that could be applied by decision-makers to guide the physical development or retrofitting of tsunami-prone coastal communities around the world. In this paper, we propose a methodology that combines tsunami flood and evacuation modelling with statistical analysis, to examine the pedestrian evacuation potential of 67 urban samples extracted from 12 case studies in Chile. Our findings show that urban form parameters like the number of exit points out of an endangered area, the mean distance from the street network to these points, and the population density, can have a noticeable impact on tsunami evacuation times, which nonetheless is significantly dependent on the evacuees & rsquo; departure time. Moreover, we demonstrate that Chilean urban coastal development has been noticeably carried out through grid-like form patterns that might contribute to hinder evacuation in case of a tsunami emergency.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The 1 April 2014 Pisagua tsunami : observations and modeling
    (2015) Catalán, Patricio A.; Aránguiz, Rafael; González, Gabriel; Tomita, Takashi; Cienfuegos Carrasco, Rodrigo Alberto; González, Juan; Shrivastava, Mahesh N.; Kumagai, Kentaro; Mokrani, Cyril; Cortés, Pablo; Gubler, Alejandra
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Tsunami and Seismic Damage Caused by the Earthquake Off Iquique, Chile, in April, 2014
    (2016) Tomita, Takashi; Kumagai, Kentauro; Mokrani, Cyril; Cienfuegos Carrasco, Rodrigo Alberto; Matsui, Hisashi