A study on increasing practical earthquake evacuation knowledge and awareness through serious games

Abstract

Earthquake evacuation process as a behavioral component of disaster resilience is one of the issues addressed by risk reduction strategies at spatial and urban scales. A well-planned, self-organized evacuation that considers human behavior pattern can reduce the loss of life. In this context, it is possible to establish a civilian-supported evacuation scenario with the behavioral change to be gained at the community scale during and after the earthquake. Geologically, Türkiye is a vulnerable country in terms of earthquakes, and there is a lack of comprehensive earthquake evacuation drills and training in both digital and traditional contexts. Therefore, Türkiye needs to focus on immersive, integrated efforts to increase the knowledge and experience of evacuees during earthquake evacuation. After integrating the necessities identified in the Turkish context and the affordance and potentials of serious games in evacuation, we propose a serious game called EVAC. This proposed model involves a component that enables (1) an increase in the level of knowledge and learning of the evacuation scenario on an individual and collective scale and (2) helps anticipate unforeseen problems, needs, and requirements that may arise during and after the earthquake by enabling the transition to a safe area in case of panic. This model has another potential (3) by integrating indoor and outdoor evacuation, this model can manage the evacuation time of the evacuees from the building, the roles they will gain when they arrive at the emergency assembly area, and the ability to provide civil organization in the area with cooperation.