Role of Reducing the Vulnerability of Urban Texture in the Capacity of Relief and Rescue Operation after a Possible Earthquake in the District 5 of Isfahan, Iran

Despite the progress of urbanization, earthquake as one of the most important natural hazards threatens most cities in the world. Accordingly, managing and reducing the vulnerability of cities to this disaster, as well as the planned relief and rescue operation, are of particular importance. The city of Isfahan, Iran, is one of the areas which requires proper attention and planning due to its high population density and vulnerability. In this regard, this study was conducted to identify the physical texture vulnerability of the District 5 of Isfahan to earthquakes and its impact during rescue and relief operations.

To conduct the research, the indices of access to green space, building density, population density, distance from the fault, distance from relief centers, access to roads and arteries, and width of roads were selected due to their frequency in studies conducted on the vulnerability of cities and scores given by specialists. Finally, the critical areas of the region were determined by weighting each of the indices using the analytic hierarchy process method in Expert Choice software (version 11) and examining the vulnerability of the region in the Geographic Information System.

It was revealed that 68% of the area had a suitable density of green space, and 73% and 88% of the region had low building and population densities, respectively. Moreover, 76% of the area had good access to relief centers and the whole area had proper passages. Finally, it was found that no faults passed through this area, and the impact of adjacent faults caused this area to be in a moderate situation in terms of vulnerability.

The critical areas were determined by overlaying each of the vulnerability layers of the city and applying their degree of importance. The results showed that 6% and 18% of the areas were in critical and highly vulnerable conditions, respectively. Therefore, rescue and relief operations would be performed with an acceptable capacity after such disasters as earthquakes.