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operations have increased, a gap remains when considering pre-positioning in coun-
tries such as Somalia. Being prepared for a disaster requires the knowledge of know-
ing when or where an event will take place, how many people will be affected
and what supplies will be required. Despite the progress that disaster planning,
mitigation and new management systems have made, the need for relief, specifically
in underdeveloped countries, still remains [5]. Improving disaster relief planning and
management is a continuous process.
Due to the unpredictable nature of a disaster, disaster management is a process that
cannot be comprehensively controlled. Altay and Green [8] explain that even though it
is known that response to disasters requires effective planning, it is crucial to leave
room for improvisation in order to deal with the unusual challenges that manifest. Hills
[9] approvingly states that the phrase disaster management implies a degree of control,
which rarely exists in disaster cases. It is for this reason that Standard Management
Methods used in industry may not always apply directly to disaster situations [9].
Rawls and Turnquist [10] raise an added concern, namely that the capacities of re-
source providers are the key components in managing response efforts subsequent to
disaster events, but that only a small amount of research has been conducted on the
planning and distribution of aid supplies kept in inventory at prepositioned facilities. In
addition, Duran et al. [11] maintain that an important element to take into account when
considering stock pre-positioning is that facilities should always have sufficient inven-
tory to satisfy demand. It should also be considered that stored aid supplies may be de-
stroyed during a disaster event [11]. The pre-positioned stock should thus meet the
needs of a disrupted region by taking the effect of the disaster into consideration [12].
Any shortcomings may result in serious consequences for victims of disasters and
could mean the difference between life and death [2]. The public thus expects “perfect
orders” and that humanitarian supply chains need to be more adaptable and agile
towards the changing needs of disaster victims [2]. This need demands effective
methods to improve disaster preparedness.
2.2
Existing Solutions
The majority of favourable solutions to disaster management problems are supported
by mathematical methods such as operations research [13]. This approach is an ap-
propriate tool for planning the preparedness, response and recovery phases of disaster
management, due to its ability to handle uncertainty by means of probabilistic scenar-
ios which represent disasters and their outcomes [14, 15, 16, 17].
Very few journal articles address logistical problems that are related to humanitar-
ian relief. Rawls and Turnquist [10] present a two-stage Stochastic Mixed Integer
Program(SMIP) that provides an emergency response pre-positioning strategy for
disaster threats. The algorithm is formulated as a heuristic algorithm. The model con-
siders uncertainty in demand for stocked supplies but also includes the uncertainty
regarding transportation network availability after an event. A stochastic inventory
control model is developed by Beamon and Kotleba [18] in the form of (Q
1
;Q
2
; r
1
; r
2
).
The model approach is to use optimal order quantities and re-order points to deter-
mine inventory for a pre-positioned warehouse responding to a complex humanitarian
