Examination of safe routes for emergency responders and people during urban flood: a case study of Isparta, Türkiye

Climate change is increasing the frequency and magnitude of floods in many parts of the world. Therefore, people are affected significantly during floods experienced in urban areas and road networks, as well as they, may be stranded at these points due to flooding, traffic jams, and flooding of vehicles. Thus, the quick search and rescue activities in these areas may reduce the loss of life and property. This study aims to create safe routes for emergency response teams and people in urban floods. For this purpose, 2D flood analysis is carried out, and flood risk classes are determined for vehicles and people according to the results of this analysis. According to these determined flood risk classes, the most appropriate point in the flood area is found for the emergency response teams to carry out their search and rescue activities effectively. The most suitable routes for emergency response teams are obtained in four different scenarios. In addition, 13 different safe points are identified for pedestrians in the flood area, and routes are created to reach these points. Consequently, the findings of the study demonstrate that during flooding, human evacuations and search and rescue activities may happen fast.