Research on Estimation of Search and Rescue Needs due to Collapsed Dwellings and Optimum SAR Management in an Earthquake

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In the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji earthquake in Japan, approximately 5500 human lives were lost by destruction of dwellings and various structures. Authors conducted questionnaire survey in Higashinada ward of Kobe city to examine how dwelling damage levels, environmental factors and personal attributes and responses affect human casualty and entrapment. Discriminant analysis was applied taking human casualty and entrapment as objective variables. The results were compared with those obtained in the similar questionnaire survey in Hokudan town. Ratio of injury are found to increase as dwelling damage reach from heavy damage to total collapse, and in case of location on the first floor. Spatial and physical entrapments are found to increase in relation to damage level of dwellings and location. While ratio of physical entrapment is similar, ratio of spatial entrapment in urban Higashinada is 3 times larger than that in rural Hokudan town, suggesting housing contents falling in small dwelling space affected spatial entrapment. These findings can be applied to estimate probability of human entrapment and demands for SAR in case of a significant earthquakeAs for the search and rescue process, SAR records of the fire departments after the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake were examined to derive time required to perform single case of search and rescue operation. A model of human animation score deteriorating along entrapment time was assumed and SAR simulation system was developed. Comparing simulation results with those observed in several city fire departments, SAR management strategy was examined in order for mitigating human casualty