Abstract

CANO P, Víctor H. Application in gis for the generation of evacuation routes, tools for urban planning: “case: east coast of Maracaibo lake”. Rev. Fac. Ing. UCV [online]. 2011, vol.26, n.2, pp.17-26. ISSN 0798-4065.

This work aims at preparing evacuation routes in the areas affected by subsidence in the east coast of Lake Maracaibo, in case of rupture of the coastal protection dike by a seismic shock, using a geographic information systems -GIS-. The study area is below mean sea level, being its lowest part at -4.5 m as to 1996 year. So an eventual breach of the protecting dam would flood this depressed area, thus requiring the creation of the most effective routes to evacuate people to refuge areas in the shortest time possible. At present, a contingency plan for the area exists in case of dam breaching, but it does not have evacuation routes defined, to move people between affected areas and refuge centers in the most efficient manner. These route needs to be integrated in the urban planning in order to ensure their preservation through time during urban development. For the creation of the fastest and shortest evacuation routes, a GIS raster format of the study area was generated, which was based on the weighted values of speed of movement according to land use.

Keywords : GIS; Subsidence; East Coast of Maracaibo Lake; Urban planning; Prevention.