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The casualty and impact induced by the 2011 Tohoku tsunami event and the earthquake in Japan drew considerable attention of Taiwanese government and civilian to review what we have accomplished for tsunami disaster prevention. However, at that time, there was no applicable tsunami potential data for local governments in Taiwan to draw the tsunami evacuation plans. Therefore, the simulation result is adopted in this study to produce the first version of tsunami inundation maps for coastal cities/counties in Taiwan. Furthermore, a planning guideline including analytical procedure and methodology is proposed to help local governments make tsunami evacuation plans using tsunami inundation maps. Examples are given in each analytical step to illustrate typical outcomes and suggestions on planning based on local conditions. This guideline and tsunami inundation maps have been submitted to central and local governments for evacuation planning. The application in one county is chosen as an example to demonstrate the practical achievement of this study. A thorough tsunami evacuation planning associated with education and training is crucial to disaster prevention of tsunami.

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Suitable transportation systems are vital for the functioning of urban areas. Such systems connect all major locations, including residential and commercial locations, in these areas. The effectiveness of the response of an urban area to an earthquake depends on the road system in the area. A feasible and efficient approach to evaluating the capacity of road systems to allow safe and efficient emergency transportation for affected residents in the aftermath of an earthquake should be developed. Ground transportation systems are vulnerable to earthquakes. For example, ground motion in the 1994 Northridge, 1995 Kobe, 1999 Chi-Chi, and 2018 Hokkaido earthquakes caused severe damage to urban roads and bridges. Moreover, for areas with a high building density that are prone to high-intensity earthquakes, it is important to be able to estimate the risk of road blockage caused by collapsed buildings. In the present study, a disaster impact chain was established to evaluate the probability and effects of buildings collapsing in an earthquake. This chain was used as the basis for a road blockage model and for the formulation of suitable procedures and methods for earthquake response. The results of this study indicate that buildings in strong-motion zones are severely damaged by high-intensity earthquakes. Falling debris from these buildings can lead to the blockage of rescue roads, delaying the transport of injured individuals to hospital after an earthquake. The results of this study can aid authorities in making decisions related to transportation system management during earthquake disasters.