Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
TUNÇ B. (Yürütücü), ÇAKA D., BARIŞ Ş.
2021 - 2023
The purpose of this project is to develop a disaster and emergency management plan, evacution model and training module for diasaster awareness that will prevent the loss of life in the Istanbul Grand Bazaar in the event of a major earthquake or other emergency. The model will also minimize economic losses in the workplaces in the bazaar, ensure the safe evacuation of people in the bazaar during and after a possible emergency and create a program that will ensure the safety of the historical artifacts and commodities found in the bazaar. Still in use today, the Grand Bazaar has been one of the most important cultural heritage sites of Istanbul for over 500 years. It is important to determine escape routes and damage reduction methods for all kinds of natural hazards or those caused by humans given the importance of the Grand Bazaar. The fire that broke out in the "Two Doors Bazaar" in the Iranian city of Tabriz, which has structural features similar to Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, resulted in a loss of US$1.2 million and injured 19 people (May 8, 2019). The investigations carried out in these types of buildings have once again demonstrated the importance of emergency evacuation planning. In particular, the fact that many visitors are tourists who are unfamiliar with the area and that the street layout is variable outside the main axes makes escape difficult in the event of an emergency. In the event of an earthquake or a major fire, the chaos and panic that may occur will tend to create a stampede towards very narrow exits. In addition, the overturning of counters and stock in front of shops will add to hazards in emergency situations. Similarly, the recent floods will be considered as natural disasters within the framework of the project and a separate evacuation model will be proposed for each one. In this context, it is necessary to determine the physical structure of the existing routes and exit gates and the intensity of use within the bazaar. The evacuation process is an important part of the emergency response strategy to manage and control various emergencies or disasters. In this project, priority escape routes will be determined in the face of natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, and fire, and terrorist attacks. Safe routes will be determined, and the evacuation process will be estimated by making integrated analysis of the sectoral distribution in the bazaar, usage densities, escape routes, widths of doors, and usage capacities. In this project, emergency evacuation routes will be decided primarily with the dynamic network flow model. Scenarios will be created considering human behaviors affecting evacuation time, escape route selection, speed due to overcrowding, and waiting times in queues. By analyzing various scenarios with the simulation program, the reliability of the model will be evaluated, and realistic data can be proposed for evacuation management. The results of the study can be used as a model for other historical bazaars. They will also provide useful data for other institutions (such as health, fire brigade, safety) that will be involved in the emergency evacuation management process. The only way to reduce the effects of disasters is to install the latest alarm systems and to increase the social awareness of the people who will experience the disaster. In the event of a disaster, the plan is to evacuate tourists safely by creating Turkish, English, Russian, Arabic, Chinese and Spanish warning systems according to the type of disaster in the Grand Bazaar, which is visited by approximately 350,000 people daily. In the model considered for the project, it is also planned to test a prototype to ensure that effective warnings are made visually, by sound, and by light (holograms). The number of people working in approximately 2,500 shops in the Grand Bazaar is around 15,000. Repairs to the sewage system, fire hydrants and roof have been completed during on-going restoration work, and the body walls will be renewed in 2020. However, knowing the correct behavior in the event of disasters such as earthquakes, fires, floods or terrorist attacks, and intervention by people with local knowledge are essential to reduce the loss of life and property. Outside access of emergency services and safe evacuation of the bazaar will be delayed due to the panic, damage, and road closures that will occur during a major earthquake or fire. First aid after the disaster will be made possible by the Grand Bazaar Management, security staff, trained shopkeepers, or other staff until the expert (professional) aid teams (first aiders, security forces, and fire brigade) arrive. For this reason, it is important for employees in the bazaar to receive disaster awareness training, as well as to give information to locals and foreigners who visit regarding the correct behavior to ensure fast evacuation. For this training to be quick, effective and easy to learn, all the information required for different disasters and emergencies will be transferred to the mobile application of the training module we will develop for the project and everyone visiting the bazaar will be given access to the application. Certain training will be provided by the project team for both the training module content and the use of the mobile application.