Developing a GIS Based Decision Support System for Resource Allocation in Earthquake Search and Rescue Operation

摘要

After an extreme earthquake strikes an urban area, the main objective of a Search and rescue operation is to minimize the number of fatalities. Therefore the assignment of rescue resources (Rescue Groups) to operational areas is of great importance to disaster managers. This paper presents a Decision support system based on Geographic Information System (GIS) and queuing theory in order to determine the resource allocation of an operational area. First, a simulation of an earthquake is implemented in GIS environment. Second, a queuing model simulation is executed and the resulting performance measures are evaluated by considering the survival time for entrapped occupants in the area and the desired Disaster management parameters. Additionally, the best assignment of rescue groups to an operational area is determined. Further work will be dedicated to applying the survival rate into the task allocation model.