Designing a Relief Distribution Network under Uncertain Situation: Preparedness in Responding a Disaster

None can predict a disaster precisely: where, when, and how big a disaster will strike one area. This study is aimed to develop a stochastic model for a location-allocation problem in responding a forecasted disaster. Our stochastic approach recommends a number and locations of LDCs that are required to be set up in the initial stage of response phase and an amount of relief items that will be dispatched to survivors in the affected areas through the proposed relief network. A mixed delivery strategy is applied in a 3-tier of a relief distribution network encompassing warehouses, local distribution centers (LDCs), and shelters. The affected people in the shelters are allowed to receive relief items either directly from the warehouses or indirectly through the LDCs. The probable tsunami in West Sumatra, Indonesia is employed to illustrate the proposed model. The model will be beneficial for disaster managers in order to improve the performance of a disaster relief operation.