An emergency logistics response system for natural disasters.

Natural disasters are a threat to human lives and the world economy, and recent experiences have proven that the current emergency management systems have significant deficiencies. The objective of this research is to develop an Emergency Response Model (ERM) that can be used by offices of emergency preparedness to evaluate response capabilities, to assess the logistics challenges in the event of natural disaster and to perform what-if analysis on the threat of a weather disturbance system. The first step to develop the ERM is to define the mechanisms and coordination that must be in place among the different emergency management agencies in the event of a natural disaster. Then, the logistics (activities and time frame) that have to be implemented are defined. Finally, a simulation model is built and used to evaluate the effectiveness of current emergency preparedness systems as compared with the proposed system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]/nCopyright of International Journal of Logistics: Research & Applications is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)