WHAT DESTINATION POINTS ARE
In HEC-LifeSim, destination points are key elements for simulating population evacuation in dam failure scenarios. These points represent the final destinations where individuals or groups head during evacuation, such as shelters, safe areas, or assembly points.
Function of Destination Points
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Evacuation simulation: Destination points allow the model to simulate population movement along the road network, taking travel times and road capacities into account.
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Life loss calculation: By determining the distance and time needed to reach a destination point, HEC-LifeSim can estimate the likelihood that individuals are exposed to flood risk, which affects life loss estimates.
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Resource optimization: Identifying the most accessible destination points helps plan evacuation resources and escape routes more efficiently.
Technical Characteristics
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Placement: Destination points are generally located in safe areas outside the predicted inundation zone. They can be defined manually or imported from existing GIS data.
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Connection to road network: HEC-LifeSim automatically associates each destination point with the nearest road, usually imported from OpenStreetMap.
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Interaction with the population: Agents (representing individuals) are routed to the closest destination points, considering traffic conditions and road capacities.
- Add a Name
- Select the Destination Shapefile: a point shapefile.
- Click OK.
IMPORTANT TO AVOID ERRORS:
In HEC-LifeSim, it is important that destination points fall within the boundaries of the EPZ polygon.
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Why this matters: The EPZ (Emergency Planning Zone) defines the area affected by the potential dam failure and within which the population is at risk. HEC-LifeSim uses this polygon to calculate evacuation paths and simulate population movement.
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Consequence of placing points outside the EPZ: If a destination point is located outside the EPZ polygon, the program will generate an error. This is because the software assumes that all population agents start and move within the EPZ, and cannot route them to a point that is considered outside the defined emergency area.
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Best practice: Always ensure that all destination points are inside the EPZ polygon, even if they represent shelters or safe areas. You can place them near the edge of the polygon to simulate evacuation to nearby safe zones, but they must remain within the polygon to be valid in the simulation.
💡 Tip: If you need to include destinations just outside the main risk area, you can extend the EPZ polygon slightly to encompass those points, so the software accepts them without errors.
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