Asst. Prof. George Y. Chao, Jr., MSc of the Department of Chemical Engineering presented a research paper in the 2019 GeoInformation for Disaster Management Conference, held from September 3-6, 2019 in Prague, Czech Republic.
The study entitled “Evaluation of Spatial Distribution of Evacuation Centers in Metro Manila” was a collaborative effort among Chao and co-authors Edward P. Cajucom, Gemma A. Constantino, Jay A. Elares, Sofia Joy G. Quillope, Haydee M. Solomon, and Cherry L. Ringor.
The paper contended that currently, “there is no centralized database on the location of evacuation centers (ECs) in MM, and the available lists are not up-to-date.” As a response, the study “geo-tagged the current list of ECs in MM obtained from different government agencies to evaluate the spatial distribution using Geospatial Information System (GIS).”
The study was able to geo-tag and validate “a total of 873 ECs…using the street view of Google EarthTM. EC-to-population ratios were calculated for each of the 16 cities and one municipality of MM. Values range from ~3,000 to 81,000 persons per EC. Distance analysis using Thiessen Polygon shows that the ECs are not evenly distributed with proximity areas ranging from 0.0009 to 9.5 km2.”
Findings showed that “out of the total number of ECs, 577 (66%) are situated in flood-prone areas while 109 (12%) are within the 1-km buffer hazard zone of an active faultline.”
The authors recommended a “re-evaluation of the locations and the number of ECs per city or municipality…to facilitate prompt evacuation when disasters strike.”
Link to the Paper: https://www.int-arch-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/XLII-3-W8/79/2019/?fbclid=IwAR0iY0-Qwv4ugA02eYudxK-xqq263QITO3mEoCfcHJyRMeQ7O1a5-_-fjjA
