Assessing Potential of UAV-Based Increase in Urban Disasters Communication on Traffic Congestion Mitigation

Effective traffic management during urban disasters is critical for reducing congestion and maintaining urban mobility. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have shown promise in enhancing real-time traffic management by sensing and communicating live traffic conditions. This study explores the potential of UAVs to mitigate the impacts of disaster-induced road closures on traffic flow. Using a detailed simulation of Dublin City Centre with five distinct disaster scenarios, we evaluate the effectiveness of UAV-based rerouting strategies. Our results demonstrate that road closures due to disasters significantly increase average travel time, while the introduction of UAVs to monitor and communicate traffic conditions can substantially restore traffic flow to pre-disaster levels. In the first disaster scenario, our UAV-based rerouting strategy achieved a 28.73% improvement in traffic conditions compared to a no-rerouting strategy, and remarkably, it also delivered a 1.60% better score compared to a scenario where no disaster occurred at all. Notably, UAV-based rerouting on average outperforms non-UAV methods, although excessive UAV coverage may lead to counterproductive outcomes by overloading rerouting decisions. These findings underscore the potential of UAVs to enhance traffic management during emergencies and in general urban contexts. Future research should focus on optimizing rerouting algorithms to ensure robust performance across various scenarios and coverage levels.