Integrated optimal scheduling of repair crew and relief vehicle after disaster

Abstract

When catastrophes occur, certain areas could be isolated and have more hardship in being provided with the relief goods because of the destruction of roads. Additional damages will occur if isolated areas cannot be supplied relief goods quickly. Therefore, to provide adequate relief goods to the demand area in time, it is essential to recover the destroyed roads and make the isolated areas accessible. In addition, relief goods should be distributed on the basis of optimal scheduling. If the order for repairing destroyed roads and supplying relief goods to an isolated area is established from the respective viewpoints, a delay will occur compared to optimal schedule considering both of them simultaneously. Thus, this study proposes a mathematical model based on Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) and an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm providing optimal scheduling by taking into account both reconstruction and delivery. By conducting various numerical experiments, the solution from the MILP and ACO could lead to more effective results than decisions based on two points of view that are not synchronized. Some meaningful findings are also found by numerous computational experiments. This research can help to make the optimal decision for scheduling of recovery and supply that thus reduces any additional damage after a major disaster.