What can you do with the Life Safety Model (LSM)

The Life Safety Model can be used to provide answers to questions such as:

Risks to people and evacuation issues

  • How much time do people have to evacuate before the flood wave arrives?
  • Is it safer to try to evacuate the population at risk or to advise them to ‘stay put’?
  • How long does it take people to reach safety?
  • Where are the safest evacuation routes located?
  • How many fatalities is the flood or dam failure likely to result in?
  • How can the loss of life be minimised?

Emergency plans for floods and dams

  • What is the risk to people posed by a dam?
  • Can improvements in evacuation routes or warnings reduce the risks to people?
  • Where should safe havens be located?