Increasing Evacuation Communication Through ICTs: An Agent-Based Model Demonstrating Evacuation Practices and the Resulting Traffic Congestion in the Rush to the Road

• In Event: Focus on Methods for Addressing Theoretical Questions in Communication and Technology

Abstract

The recent expansion in the number of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) available to individuals and organizations has changed the speed and reach of evacuation-related messages. This study explores ICTs’ influences on evacuation decision-making and traffic congestion. Drawing from both communication studies and transportation science, we develop a behaviorally defensible model that integrates people with their corresponding behavioral options. Our findings from the scenarios when there is widespread ICT use reveal a shift in the evacuation time-scale, resulting in traffic congestion early in the evacuation cycle. The effects of this congestion in life-threatening situations are significantly worse than traffic congestion in the non-life-threatening condition. Even under conditions where face-to-face communication is the only option, evacuations still occur, but at a slower rate, and there are virtually no traffic congestion issues. Our discussion elaborates on the theoretical contributions and focuses on how ICTs have changed evacuation behavior.

Authors

• Keri Keilberg Stephens, U of Texas - Austin

• Ehsan Jafari, U of Texas - Austin

• Stephens Boyles, U of Texas - Austin

• Jessica Lynn Ford, University of Texas at Austin

• Yaguang Zhu, The University of Texas at Austin