Human decision-making in crowds in a virtual flood scenario

Abstract

Flood evacuation outcomes are critically shaped by human behaviour, yet empirical data on individual decision-making remain scarce due to the dangers and logistical challenges of collecting data during real natural hazards. To address this gap, this study used Virtual Reality (VR) to examine how social cues, specifically crowd behaviour, interact with factors such as crowd size, clarity of the safe destination, and floodwater level to influence evacuation choices and delays. Four within-subjects VR experiments were conducted with 84 participants, systematically testing these variables in an immersive flood scenario. Results showed that crowd behaviour strongly determined both route choice and evacuation latency, often outweighing other factors. Participants tended to follow crowds into floodwater, demonstrating the influence of social information. However, this influence weakened when water levels were very high, indicating a threshold that overrides social cues. Larger crowds and unclear destination information further increased reliance on social information and pre-movement times. These findings highlight the powerful role of social dynamics in emergency decision-making and underscore the need to integrate realistic human behaviour, particularly social influence, into flood risk models, public warnings, and evacuation planning to improve community resilience and safety.