A Decision Support Tool to Locate Shelters in Emergency Logistics

The objective of this research is to develop a systematic methodology to locate shelters considering both transportation and social factors in the aftermath of disasters. When anticipated demands for hurricane evacuation shelter spaces exceed existing capacity as defined by the preceding standards, there is a need to utilize less preferred facilities. It is critical that shelter selection decisions be made carefully considering both accessibility and facility conditions, and in consultation with local emergency management and public safety officials. While Red Cross and other relief agencies propose strategies to locate shelters, they currently do not consider how evacuees choose facilities based on accessibility to shelters and the in-facility congestion. This was evident in recent disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and Rita where some of the smaller shelters turned out to be inaccessible or unsafe for evacuees to use. This report provides a mathematical model to consider traveler routing and in facility delays in the location of facilities; considers the use of social cost functions to optimize the location of facilities in a network; and provides conclusions and directions for future research.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/074PIY04%20a%20decision%20support%20tool.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  NEXTRANS

  Purdue University
  3000 Kent Avenue
  Lafayette, IN  United States  47906-1075

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Ukkusuri, Satish V
  • Ouyang, Yanfeng
• Publication Date: 2015

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 72p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accessibility; Decision support systems; Disaster preparedness; Disasters and emergency operations; Evacuation; Externalities; Location; Mathematical models; Optimization; Routes and routing; Shelters
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Security and Emergencies; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01556484
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: NEXTRANS Project No. 074PIY04
• Contract Numbers: DTRT07-G-005
• Files: UTC, TRIS, RITA, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Mar 6 2015 1:46PM