Development of a Methodology to Identify Crucial Emergency Stations for Quick Relief Response to the Damaged Urban Areas Following an Earthquake (Case Study: Isfahan City Center)

By identifying the geographical location for the crucial relief stations, it is possible to facilitate the accessibility of the medical services to the injured individuals in crisis situations. The main objective of this research is to study the possibility of combined application of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), ArcGIS and Transcad software to identify the factors which affect the vulnerability of infrastructure in a study region, to determine the relative importance of these factors in relation to each other, to identify the high risk regions, to identify appropriate health-care centers for relief purposes and to examine the capability of these centers for providing the services required in crisis conditions.
This is a case study type of research, conducted in the central region of Isfahan, a large city located in the middle of Iran. The required data and information have been collected from the results of the “Population and Housing Census” comprising maps presenting the current status of Isfahan. They were then analyzed using Arc GIS and Transcad software and an AHP model developed by using the Expert Choice Software.
The obtained results revealed the possibility of successful application of the methodology proposed in this study. The results of this case study, conducted on 94 out of 186 traffic zones defined in the “Comprehensive Transportation Plan of Isfahan City,” indicated that 10 zones, mainly located in the residential areas, are highly vulnerable to be exposed to the post-earthquake incidents. The results also showed that out of 19 medical centers located at the service area of the study region, which also contribute to the 80% of the medical services in Isfahan, four medical centers with the best accessibility in the shortest time, can provide services to these 10 zones.
The results obtained from this case study indicated that the vulnerability of a traffic zone and its fatality rate in crisis events cannot be specified by only considering its physical conditions and other factors, e.g., population density and building density but also the lifetime of the buildings are also highly effective. In addition, due to the inappropriate positioning and being located in the narrow and vulnerable streets, some of the medical stations, such as Hojatieh Hospital and Amir-Al-Muminin Hospital, are vulnerable to post-crisis risk and there is a possibility of loss of access to these centers.