Simulation analysis of evacuation processes in a subway station based on multi-disaster coupling scenarios

Objective: This study aimed to improve knowledge on ways to effectively solve problems associated with subway station emergencies and provide methodological guidance for safety management. Process and method: A real case was considered—the Nanning Chaoyang Square subway station—and the AnyLogic simulation modeling software was used to build a simulation model of the evacuation process in the station in different disaster and disaster coupling scenarios. In particular, the characteristics of various disaster scenarios and the coupling effect between multiple disasters were analyzed, the social force model was improved during the analysis of pedestrian movement, and the key factors affecting the evacuation process in fire outbreak, flooding, and fire and flood coupling scenarios were analyzed. The number of evacuated pedestrians and evacuation times in each scenario were compared for analysis, to propose targeted suggestions. Results: The impact of fire products on pedestrians increased rapidly during the fire growth stage. When a fire or flood occurred on Side A of the station hall floor, the impact on the evacuation capacity was the greatest. The results support the claim that different multi-disaster coupling scenarios have different effects on evacuation risk owing to the influence of pedestrian evacuation strategies.