Evaluation for emergency escape during stair climbing in a simulated flood evacuation

The objective of this study was to measure muscle activity during stair-climbing in order to estimate the water depth at which people can evacuate safely from urban underground. A life-size model of a staircase with a water pump that generated water flow from the top of stairs was constructed. In the study, electromyogram data were measured for six muscles on the right lower extremity, namely, the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, long head of the biceps femoris, medial gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, and gluteus maximus. From the results, the GA exhibited the highest muscle activity in the latter part of the stance phase, suggesting that the subjects tended to avoid stumbling against the stream of the water during ankle planter flexion. The results obtained from this study would be used for the construction of a guideline for evacuation from urban underground in flood disaster.