Asst. Prof. George Y. Chao, Jr., MSc of the聽Department of Chemical Engineering聽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 鈥淓valuation of Spatial Distribution of Evacuation Centers in Metro Manila鈥� 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, 鈥渢here is no centralized database on the location of evacuation centers (ECs) in MM, and the available lists are not up-to-date.鈥� As a response, the study 鈥済eo-tagged the current list of ECs in MM obtained from different government agencies to evaluate the spatial distribution using Geospatial Information System (GIS).鈥�
The study was able to geo-tag and validate 鈥渁 total of 873 ECs鈥sing 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.鈥�
Findings showed that 鈥渙ut 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.鈥�
The authors recommended a 鈥渞e-evaluation of the locations and the number of ECs per city or municipality鈥o facilitate prompt evacuation when disasters strike.鈥�
Link to the Paper:
