Tag Archives: evacuation
Comments on the sinking of the MV Sewol 16 April 2014, Part 3: Playing the blame game or asking difficult questions — written by Prof Ed Galea, 23 April 2014 23:00
It is human nature to want to blame someone after a tragedy. But when a disaster of this magnitude occurs, it is time for a nation as a whole to reflect on its safety culture, and not simply blame a few individuals. We should be looking at the safety culture on board the Sewol, in the company that owns and runs the vessel, within the South Korean maritime industry and within South Korean culture as a whole. To address the real problem and ensure that this type of disaster never happens again, we must identify and address the root cause(s) of the problem and this is likely to be the result of a number of factors, beyond the actions of the Captain and crew. Continue reading
Posted in Evacaution, Ship Evacuation
Tagged evacuation, rescue, safety, safety briefing, Sewol, ship evacuation
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Comments on the sinking of the MV Sewol 16 April 2014, Part 2: Evacuation issues associated with the Sewol incident — written by Prof Ed Galea, 20 April 2014 20:00
Here I will explore to explore the ship evacuation process, what hampered the evacuation of the passengers on the Sewol and some of the implications for passenger ship safety. Continue reading
Posted in Evacaution, Ship Evacuation, survivability
Tagged costa concordia, evacuation, Sewol, ship evacuation
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Comments on the sinking of the MV Sewol 16 April 2014, Part 1: What do we currently know about the Sewol incident — written by Prof Ed Galea, 20 April 2014 01:30
What do we currently know about the sinking of the Sewol Continue reading
Posted in Evacaution, Ship Evacuation
Tagged evacuation, rescue, sea, Sewol, ship evacuation
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Sinking of the MV SEWOL 16 April 2014 — written by Prof Ed Galea, 19 April 2014 14:30
My best wishes go out to the traumatised families of the dead and missing in the Sewol disaster. The loss of so many innocent people, mainly school aged children is a terrible tragedy which is felt by not only the families of those involved but all the people of South Korea and the world. Continue reading
12 years on from 9/11
Twelve years after the collapse of the WTC towers, the far-reaching impact of the attacks is still being felt when it comes to the design of new high-rise buildings across the world. FSEG research is still on-going and the data we have collected, both on the mechanics of large-scale evacuation, and on the human behaviour issues, is being shared across the world, as a valuable international resource. Continue reading
Posted in 9/11, Evacaution
Tagged 9/11, building evacuation, crowd dynamics, elevator, evacuation, evacuation modelling, safety, stairs
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Aviation Accident Survival Rates — Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics
I think that the USA Today article represents an interesting line of inquiry into the issue of survivability in aviation accidents, but I don’t believe that the analysis presented addresses the whole picture and so can be misleading. Continue reading
Posted in aircraft crash, Aircraft Evacuation, Evacaution, Fire, survivability
Tagged aircraft crash, aircraft evacuation, evacuation, safety, statistics
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Kiss Nightclub Tragedy — More Information and some Simplified Analysis
Questions are being raised as to how many people were in the nightclub at the time of the incident. This will become an important issue as the inquiry into the disaster progresses as the level of club occupancy could be used as a factor in contributing to the severity of the disaster and hence in apportioning responsibility.
Another issue that has been raised is whether or not more exits would have made a material difference to the outcome. Given that the nightclub had only a third of the required number of exits, one has to wonder whether this would have made a material difference to the outcome.
To examine these issues I have done some simple analysis based on a number of assumptions and what the media are currently reporting.
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Posted in Evacaution, Fire
Tagged building evacuation, crowd disaster, evacuation, evacuation modelling, fire, fire modelling, Kiss Nightclub fire, safety
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Yet another Nightclub Tragedy — Grief tainted with Anger
The death toll in the Kiss Nightclub fire has risen to 231. It is heart breaking to see so many young faces with promising lives ahead of them snuffed out in seconds. It is even more heartbreaking to learn that this tragic loss of life may have been needless and preventable. As more details of this tragedy begin to emerge, heartbreak turns to anger. While the details are still not known for certain, the more that comes out in the media the more this carnage appears to be no simple accident i.e. an unforeseeable event, but the result of a predictable and preventable failing of Regulation, Enforcement and Management. If so, then immediate measures must be taken to correct the failings in order to ensure a safer Brazil – let this be the legacy of the Kiss victims. Continue reading
Posted in Evacaution, Fire
Tagged building evacuation, crowd dynamics, evacuation, fire, Kiss Nightclub fire, nightclubs
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Yet another Tragic Nightclub Fire!
Today we hear the news of a tragic nightclub fire in Brazil which has claimed the lives of at least 180 young people, with at least 200 more injured. I would not be surprised if the death toll rises, especially if the occupancy is more than 300. Large crowds, within a confined space, whose walls are clad with combustible PU foam, with limited means of egress, probably in the dark, a number of who are probably intoxicated and then allowing the use of pyrotechnics is a recipe for disaster. Indeed, building regulations and planning permission should not permit such death traps to exist in the first place and enforcement authorities should ensure that they do not occur. Continue reading
Posted in Evacaution, Fire
Tagged evacuation, evacuation modelling, fire, Football World Cup, Kiss Nightclub fire, nightclubs, Olympics, panic, safety
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Passenger Airline Safety Briefing
Airline safety briefings which are the most effective Continue reading
Posted in Aircraft Evacuation, Evacaution
Tagged aircraft evacuation, evacuation, safety, safety briefing
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