Semester
Fall
Date of Graduation
2007
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MA
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Geology and Geography
Committee Chair
Gregory Elmes.
Abstract
The focus of this project is planning for the evacuation of the nursing homes of the city of Virginia Beach, VA in response to a hurricane risk. The population of nursing homes, hospitals and assisted living communities need special assistance when evacuating an area, requiring medications, equipment, and specialized transportation. Previous studies for Virginia Beach have provided generalizations for the population as a whole yet have provided very little data for specific communities such as nursing homes. A GIS database is created for nursing home establishments including road networks, bridges and tunnels, elevation, estimated facility population, and recently modeled storm surge data. This study shows that some nursing home evacuation plans are inadequate for predicted hurricanes of category three and above and need to be readdressed. The research identifies and provides maps and other geographic information essential for contingency planning.
Recommended Citation
Dawson, Randall S., "Creating a GIS database for nursing home evacuation planning in Virginia Beach, Virginia" (2007). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 1851.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/1851