Investigating the effect of different pre-evacuation behavior and exit choice strategies using agent-based modeling

An agent-based evacuation model was used to simulate evacuation behavior for a Chinese supermarket and an international university in the Netherlands. Data on exit choice and pre-evacuation behavior were collected via questionnaires and literature review. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to test the influence of variation in pre-evacuation time and exit choice on evacuation time. Results for the supermarket are influenced by exit choice because of the long and narrow shape of the building. Simulation results for the university were most dependent on the behavior of the evacuation officers.