Mapping the Hazard: Visual Analysis of Flood Impact on Urban Mobility

IEEE Comput Graph Appl. 2021 Jan-Feb;41(1):26-34. doi: 10.1109/MCG.2020.3041371. Epub 2021 Jan 14.

Abstract

With the growing influence of climate change, the intensity of flood disasters has significantly increased throughout the world over the past decades. Among the various types of hazards caused by floods, disruption of the road network has a particularly severe impact on the mobility of emergency responders, and therefore, poses a difficult challenge to damage mitigation, especially in the urban environment. The aim of this article is to present a mapping model for analyzing the spatial pattern of flood impact on urban mobility. Specifically, by incorporating the theory of space syntax, this model focuses on two dimensions of the analysis: the performance of the road network and the relationship between the factors behind it. The former can demonstrate the extent to which the city is affected by flooding in terms of mobility, whereas the latter can provide valuable reference for enhancing the efficiency of evacuation and rescue operations.