Resilient Humanitarian Logistics: Planning for Relief Distribution Amidst Damaged Infrastructure

Planning the distribution system of humanitarian relief efforts following a disaster is a crucial aspect. An optimal distribution system can only function properly in the presence of robust infrastructure networks, such as transportation networks. However, disasters, whether natural or man-made, often cause severe damages or destructions to such infrastructure networks. In this work, we examine the planning of the distribution system, which involves transporting relief materials from storage facilities to distribution centers using trucks, then delivering them to the victims' demand nodes using unmanned aerial vehicles. Accordingly, we develop an optimization model using mathematical programming with the objective of enhancing the resilience of the system. Furthermore, the model takes into account the capacity of the roads within a transportation network that are utilized by trucks, considering their level of damage following the disaster and the time to restore them. We solve the developed optimization model for a transportation network with various scenarios considering different levels of road damages and different restoration durations for such damaged roads. The results show that based on the performance in various restoration time scenarios, planning for the delivery of relief goods does not always have to be done right after a disaster occurs due to the dynamic nature of the disruptions in transit. In addition, based on the travel time of the system, decision makers can decide to implement the most ideal scenario for disaster response in terms of the restoration time for the damaged infrastructure.

Keywords: Optimization, Resilience, Restoration, Relief distribution, Disaster management, Transportation, UAV.