Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
relationships that have evolved over years, along with the refinement of policies. In
contrast, disaster relief systems develop new networks of relationships within days
or even hours, and have very short life-cycles (Oloruntoba and Gray
2006
; Denning
2006
). Thus,
time
plays a substantial role in the construction and operation of such
networks. As noted by Tzeng et al. (
2007
), once a disaster such as an earthquake
strikes, effective disaster efforts can mitigate the damage, reduce the number of
fatalities, and bring relief to the survivors.
The fact that time is a critical element in disaster relief is also noted in the key
benchmarks defined for the US Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA)'s response and recovery. The key benchmarks are: to meet the survivors'
initial demands within 72 h, to restore basic community functionality within
60 days, and to return to as normal of a situation within 5 years (Fugate
2012
).
According to FEMA's first national preparedness report, states have developed
fatality management plans, yet not all of them are adequate and practical. Specifi-
cally, it is challenging to measure the progress of preparedness activities, according
to a US Department of Homeland Security (
2012
) report. Walton et al. (
2011
)
further emphasize that the importance of speed is noted in leading emergency
response guidelines with disaster relief operations intrinsically requiring the need
for speed (see also USAID (
2005
) and UNHCR (
2007
)).
The timely and efficient delivery of relief goods to the affected population not
only decreases the fatality rate but may also prevent chaotic situations. In the case
of cyclone Haiyan, for example, the strongest typhoon ever recorded in terms of
wind speed, which devastated areas of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines,
where 11 million people were affected, slow relief delivery efforts forced people to
seek any possible means to survive. A number of relief trucks were attacked and
had food stolen, and some areas were reported to be on the brink of anarchy
(Chicago Tribune
2013
; CBS News
2013
).
In this paper, we propose an integrated supply chain network model for disaster
relief. Our mathematical framework is of system-optimization type where the
organization aims to satisfy the uncertain demands subject to the minimization of
total operational costs while the sequences of activities leading to the ultimate
delivery of the relief good are targeted to be completed within a certain time. The
first criterion in this model captures the total costs of all the activities in the supply
chain as well as the expected shortage and surplus penalties at the demand points.
The second criterion consists of the penalties associated with the time deviations on
paths of the relief items to the demand points with respect to the pre-specified target
times. Our model allows this time requirement to vary from one demand point to
another. In addition, our model integrates the possibility of the pre-positioning of
relief items before the occurrence of the disaster as well as the case in which the
organization procures after the disaster hits the region. The solution to our model
yields the optimal levels of activities associated with procurement, storage, and
transportation of the relief items, whether purchased/procured in advance or after
the disaster strikes—if need be. The solution also provides the optimal values of the
over-the-target time deviations. This feature enables the organization to estimate
the anticipated delays in the delivery of the relief items to the demand points.
