Shelter Location Research Articles

Multi-Criteria Location Model of Emergency Shelters in Humanitarian Logistics

Natural disasters can cause serious casualties and economic losses, and emergency shelters are effective measures to reduce disaster risks and protect lives. At present, the location models of refuge facilities often ignore the diversion of shelter from the perspective of humanitarian logistics and the needs of victims. Such models also seldom consider the impact of the pre-storage of relief materials on the location of shelters. In this study, on the basis of the different needs of disaster victims, shelters are divided into two types—basic life and psychological medical service guarantees. While considering the full coverage of shelter needs, capacities, and budget constraints, the shelter distance, the optimized distribution of refugees, and the pre-stock quantity of goods are optimized. The facility service quality is optimized on the basis of qualitative factors. This study proposes a multi-standard constrained site selection model to optimize the pre-disaster shelter site-allocation problem. The model is helpful for decision makers to influence shelter siting and victims’ allocating process through their expertise and to obtain a solution that compromises multiple objectives. In this study, several basic cases are generated from the actual data of certain areas in Sichuan Province, a disaster-prone region in China, to verify the effectiveness of the model.

Nightly selection of resting sites and group behavior reveal antipredator strategies in giraffe.

This study presents the first findings on nocturnal behavior patterns of wild Angolan giraffe. We characterized their nocturnal behavior and analyzed the influence of ecological factors such as group size, season, and habitat use. Giraffe were observed using night vision systems and thermal imaging cameras on Okapuka Ranch, Namibia. A total of 77 giraffe were observed during 24 nights over two distinct periods—July–August 2016 (dry season) and February–March 2017 (wet season). Photoperiod had a marked influence on their activity and moving behavior. At dusk, giraffe reduced the time spent moving and increasingly lay down and slept at the onset of darkness. Body postures that likely correspond to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep posture (RSP) were observed 15.8 ± 18.3 min after giraffe sat down. Season had a significant effect with longer RSP phases during the dry season (dry: 155.2 ± 191.1 s, n = 79; wet: 85.8 ± 94.9 s, n = 73). Further analyses of the influence of social behavior patterns did not show an effect of group size on RSP lengths. When a group of giraffe spent time at a specific resting site, several individuals were alert (vigilant) while other group members sat down or took up RSP. Simultaneous RSP events within a group were rarely observed. Resting sites were characterized by single trees or sparse bushes on open areas allowing for good visibility in a relatively sheltered location.

ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT IN METROPOLITAN CITY BASED ON ORIGIN-DESTINATION (CASE STUDY: METRO CAPSUL BANDUNG)

Development of new mode of metro kapsul as mass transportation mode in Bandung with corridor plan from Station Hall to Tegallega and return to Station Hall with plan of 19 stop station which can give contribution to congestion problem and lack of public transportation service in Bandung city. This study aims to analyze the potential of demand with the data of origin - destination of the respondent in the corridor plan of the metro capsule in order to give a description of the movement in the origin-destination matrix, in analysis for potential demand used the modal movement assumption of private vehicles, public transport and pedestrian, The location of priority shelter at the beginning of development by using multicriteria analysis while for operational analysis is calculated some variables of capsule metro operating system (headways, frequencies, etc). The result of origin-destination matrix analysis is getting potential demand of metro capsule during weekdays on-peak of 3529 pass/hour, off-peak of 2116 pass/hour. The result of location priority stop location will get 6 (six) stop location recommended in “Stasiun Bandung, Pasar Baru, Pasar Anyar, Taman Tegallega, ITC Kebon Kelapa and Alun-Alun Bandung”. From the operational results of metro capsule, obtained frequence of 20 Unit/jam, headways 3 minutes, the number of vehicles required 8 vehicles, on weekdays and weekends when on-peak and off-peak.

A Multi-Objective Stochastic Model for an Earthquake Relief Network

Earthquake relief network involves storage and distribution of relief aid to people in need. In this paper, a new stochastic multi-objective mixed integer mathematical model is developed and implemented in Kadikoy municipality of Istanbul, Turkey in order to configure part of the earthquake relief network. The aim of the model is to help decision makers decide on the locations of storage areas for shelters pre-earthquake and distribution of shelters from these areas to temporary shelter areas post-earthquake while minimizing earthquake scenario-specific total expected distribution distance, total expected earthquake damage risk factor of storage areas and expected total penalty cost related to unsatisfied demand at temporary shelter areas, simultaneously. In the model, storage area capacity and coverage distance restrictions are taken into consideration. The data related to potential storage areas and shelter locations were obtained from Kadikoy municipality of Istanbul and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM). The earthquake damage risk factors were determined based on possible earthquake scenarios given in Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) report. Four event scenarios with two different earthquake scenario likelihoods were considered and sample efficient solutions from the Pareto frontier were obtained implementing the normalized (scaled) weighted sum method.

A Clustering-Based Surrogate-Assisted Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithm for Shelter Location Problem Under Uncertainty of Road Networks

The shelter location is very important for evacuation planning in natural disasters, and evolutionary algorithms (EAs) have demonstrated their effectiveness in solving this challenging problem. However, few EAs have been reported focusing on the shelter location problem under uncertainty of road networks due to the expensive cost of calculating the evacuation distance for individual evaluation. To address this issue, in this article, we propose a clustering-based surrogate-assisted multiobjective EA, termed AR-MOEA+SA, in the framework of a recently developed EA AR-MOEA. In AR-MOEA+SA, a surrogate model, the radial basis function (RBF), is adopted to approximately calculate the evacuation distance under uncertainty of road networks. Due to the fact that there often exist a large number of communities needing to be considered in shelter location, a clustering strategy is suggested to convert the surrogate of high-dimensional problem into the one of low-dimensional problem in the proposed AR-MOEA+SA for efficiently building the RBF network. A population initialization strategy is also suggested in AR-MOEA+SA to enhance the quality of training data in the early stages of evolution. Experimental results on a variety of test instances demonstrate the superiority of the proposed AR-MOEA+SA over the original version of AR-MOEA in terms of both computational efficiency and solution quality.

A Dynamic Shelter Location and Victim Resettlement Model Considering Equitable Waiting Costs

Catastrophic natural disasters cause devastating damage and leave a huge number of homeless people. Waiting for resettlement in a post-disaster environment brings human suffering, which is defined by waiting cost in this paper. Taking into account waiting cost and fairness consideration simultaneously, a mixed integer linear programming model is constructed for the multiperiod location-allocation process. Two fairness indicators are incorporated to guarantee both the whole-process equity and the periodic equity. The model is implemented in the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) and solved by the CPLEX solver. An illustrative example is provided to explain the model characteristics. Furthermore, a case study of the Yushu earthquake is conducted to demonstrate the applicability of the model to practical problems.

ПРИРОДНЫЙ ФАКТОР В ТАМБОВСКОМ ВОССТАНИИ 1920-1921 ГГ.

The article analyses the influence of the natural factor on the peasant rebellion of 1920-1921 in Tambov province. Relying on a wide range of archival sources and eyewitnesses’ memories, the author identifies the role of landscape and weather conditions in the military conflict. The role of natural objects (ravines, forest, marsh) in rebellious brigades’ manoeuvring is identified. The issue of using natural objects as natural shelters is covered. The conclusion is made that the rebels had a certain tactical advantage due to their knowledge of local relief and location of natural shelters.

Consumer mobility predicts impacts of herbivory across an environmental stress gradient.

Environmental stress impedes predation and herbivory by limiting the ability of animals to search for and consume prey. We tested the contingency of this relationship on consumer traits and specifically hypothesized that herbivore mobility relative to the return time of limiting environmental stress would predict consumer effects. We examined how wave-induced water motion affects marine communities via herbivory by highly mobile (fish) vs. slow-moving (pencil urchin) consumers at two wave-sheltered and two wave-exposed rocky subtidal locations in the Galapagos Islands. The exposed locations experienced 99th percentile flow speeds that were 2-5 times greater than sheltered locations, with mean flow speeds>33cm/s vs.<16cm/s, 2-7 times higher standing macroalgal cover and 2-3 times lower cover of crustose coralline algae than the sheltered locations. As predicted by the environmental stress hypothesis (ESH), there was a negative relationship between mean flow speed and urchin abundance and herbivory rates on Ulva spp. algal feeding assays. In contrast, the biomass of surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae) and parrotfishes (Labridae: Scarinae) was positively correlated with mean flow speed. Ulva assays were consumed at equal rates by fish at exposed and sheltered locations, indicating continued herbivory even when flow speeds surpassed maximum reported swimming speeds at a rate of 1-2 times per minute. Modeled variation in fish species richness revealed minimal effects of diversity on herbivory rates at flow speeds<40cm/s, when all species were capable of foraging, and above 120cm/s, when no species could forage, while increasing diversity maximized herbivory rates at flow speeds of 40-120cm/s. Two-month herbivore exclusion experiments during warm and cool seasons revealed that macroalgal biomass was positively correlated with flow speed. Fish limited macroalgal development by 65-91% at one exposed location but not the second and by 70% at the two sheltered locations. In contrast, pencil urchins did not affect algal communities at either exposed location, but reduced macroalgae by 87% relative to controls at both sheltered locations. We propose an extension of the ESH that is contingent upon mobility to explain species-specific changes in feeding rates and consumer effects on benthic communities across environmental gradients.

Benefits from a tabletop exercise in a Heat-Health Action Plan in Amadora, Portugal

Abstract Issue National guidelines for Heat-Health Action Plans (HHAP) in Portugal exist since 2004. These guidelines are further developed and implemented at Local Public Health Units (LPHU) together with local partners. Tabletop exercises are a useful tool to improve preparedness. Despite the long experience with HHAP there has not been any tabletop exercise in Amadora. Description Amadora’s LPHU organized a tabletop exercise with local partners to improve HHAP preparedness (12th July 2018). It included: LPHU, city hall, civil protection services, local social services, primary healthcare services, local public hospital, and firefighters. The exercise hypothesized a scenario of an unprecedented increase of temperature for an extended period of time, activating the highest level of warning (red) and action in the HHAP. Results During the exercise several issues were identified. Some partners were not clear about the pathway established for red warnings and partners were not aware of relevant HHAP activities. Also, from the 8 sites listed as climate shelters, only 2 were deemed as adequate for using in this scenario, even though they have been listed for several HHAP. Due to the exercise, it was possible to conduct an inspection of said shelters, which hadn’t took place yet due to the lack of resources. It was possible to find out that only one shelter was fit for purpose. Additional private facilities were identified as desirable shelter locations during the exercise. A few weeks later, a red warning was issued and clarification arising from the tabletop exercise was useful to properly implement measures. Lessons Despite the perceived frequent and good communication among partners of the HHAP, several issues - mainly regarding the adequacy of shelters - were identified with a tabletop exercise. It also improved preparedness for the following HHAP warning. As such, tabletop exercises should be promoted within HHAP. Key messages Despite developing heat-health action plans for several years, with the involvement of community partners, unidentified constraints existed in Amadora, Portugal. Tabletop exercises should be used more frequently, as we were able to identify and solve constraints within our heat-health action plan using one.

Identifying shelter locations and building air intake risk from release of particulate matter in a three-dimensional street canyon via wind tunnel and CFD simulation

This study aims to identify lower risk exterior shelter areas and building air intake locations by modeling particulate matter (PM) dispersion in a three-dimensional street canyon from a point source and comprises a wind tunnel experiment and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The model street canyon was a two-by-two building array of constant height with aspect ratios of 0.35, 0.70, and 1.05. A PM emission source external to the street canyon was simulated with water droplets from an ultrasonic humidifier in the wind tunnel. The CFD simulation, using the standard turbulence k-ϵ turbulence model and the Discrete Phase Model, showed that, inside the street canyon, the sidewalks had the lowest PM concentration at the breathing level of 1.5 m above the ground. Regardless of wind direction and PM source location, the roofs had the lowest PM concentration among all building surfaces with access to the internal intersection. Therefore, if an accidental point release of PM outside the street canyons occurs, pedestrians that could not enter buildings should stay on the sidewalks. For building construction and renovation, new ventilation air intakes should be installed on the roofs, and the intakes that are already installed on other building façade surfaces should be advised to be closed during such episode.

Effect of Evacuation Information and Evacuation Behaviors on High-Rise Apartment Residents

As urbanization advances, the number of people living in high-rise buildings is gradually increasing. However, few studies on evacuation planning during emergencies (or simulations) simultaneously considering high-rise buildings and urban areas have been carried out. This study targeted Sejong city in Korea to analyze evacuation behavior in high-rise apartments and the effect of evacuation information. For the disaster situation, this study assumed a worst-case situation in which apartment residents need to quickly evacuate through apartment stairwells and pedestrian roads owing to a major disaster and unexpected accident occurrence. Analysis scenarios were divided by considering the evacuation information level: 1) starting evacuation within 15 min, 2) starting evacuation within 30 min, and 3) starting evacuation within 60 min. Also, scenario 4 is for the case that information for a new optimal shelter location was informed to evacuees, whereas scenario 5 is for the case that information for an existing optimal shelter location was informed to evacuees. The analysis results indicate the evacuation completion time is greatly reduced if high-level information is provided. The results of this study offer guidance on emergency situations using micro-simulations and the Social Force model.

A Risk-Averse Shelter Location and Evacuation Routing Assignment Problem in an Uncertain Environment.

Disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and floods continue to have devastating socioeconomic impacts and endanger millions of lives. Shelters are safe zones that protect victims from possible damage, and evacuation routes are the paths from disaster zones toward shelter areas. To enable the timely evacuation of disaster zones, decisions regarding shelter location and routing assignment (i.e., traffic assignment) should be considered simultaneously. In this work, we propose a risk-averse stochastic programming model with a chance constraint that takes into account the uncertainty in the demand of disaster sites while minimizing the total evacuation time. The total evacuation time reflects the efficacy of emergency management from a system optimal (SO) perspective. A conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) is incorporated into the objective function to account for risk measures in the presence of uncertain post-disaster demand. We resolve the non-linear travel time function of traffic flow by employing a second-order cone programming (SOCP) approach and linearizing the non-linear chance constraints into a new mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) reformulation so that the problem can be directly solved by state-of-the-art optimization solvers. We illustrate the application of our model using two case studies. The first case study is used to demonstrate the difference between a risk-neutral model and our proposed model. An extensive computational study provides practical insight into the proposed modeling approach using another case study concerning the Black Saturday bushfire in Australia.

Determining the Location of Shelters for Tsunami Evacuation Based on Service Area Analysis in Paseban Village, Kencong Sub-District, Jember District

In each earthquake and tsunami event, efforts to evacuate to a safe place are always the right choice. This is because after the earthquake, the damage caused is usually quite massive. There is little time to react in an evacuation effort to move to a place safe from the reach of the tsunami wave. This study aimed to identify areas affected by the tsunami and the number of people exposed. The data will be used to select the temporary evacuation points that can be used to protect oneself from tsunami waves. The evacuation point was done by the scoring method. The determining of evacuation points took into account the parameters of building functions, distance from shoreline, building area, altitude, number of building floors, distance from the road, and its capacity. The results of this study indicates that, the determining of evacuation sites greatly impacts the area and service areas for Temporary Evacuation Shelter (TES)

Multi-criteria decision model for the selection and location of temporary shelters in disaster management

The occurrence of natural or anthropic disasters in Brazil and the world emphasizes the importance of humanitarian logistics. Scholars and practitioners have developed modeling approaches to support aid delivery planning, but little attention has been given to the selection of community or collective temporary shelters. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel multi-criteria decision model focused on the principles of humanitarian logistics for the selection and spatial location of community or collective temporary shelters. This model not only incorporates evaluation criteria from documents published by humanitarian aid organizations and related literature but also the expertise of 23 experienced humanitarian logisticians from the Brazilian Civil Defense. The results quantify the importance of each criterion and enable the development of a decision tool, the ShelterPro software, that can be used to support the decision-making process of selecting temporary shelters. The results also indicate that safety of the facility, cultural adequacy, and location accessibility are the most valuable criteria. With these insights and the decision supporting tool, better humanitarian decisions can be made by humanitarian logistics managers, local authorities, or designated officials in the selection and location of temporary shelters in emergency response.

Prevalence and impact of eye disease in an urban homeless and marginally housed population

ObjectiveHomeless and marginally housed (HMH) populations have a higher prevalence of visual impairment than the general population. This study is the first to conduct a comprehensive ophthalmic examination using portable equipment at various homeless shelter locations in an urban population to identify objective ocular pathologies in a randomly selected sample. MethodsTen adult shelters were randomly selected in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and 143 individuals were randomly selected based on their shelter bed numbers at each shelter, in proportion to the shelter's bed capacity. Participants completed a sociodemographic survey and clinical eye examination. Finally, a dilated ocular examination was performed using a portable slit lamp, autorefractor, tonometer, indirect ophthalmoscope, and fundus camera. ResultsThe median age of participants was 53.3 years; 82.5% were male and 17.5% female. The age-standardized prevalence of visual impairment was 27.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 20.6–35.1) for study participants. Refractive error was present in 48% of participants, 34% with myopia and 11% with hyperopia, and 37.8% (95% CI, 32.2–45.9) of this study population were diagnosed with at least one nonrefractive ocular pathology. Low income and low educational attainment were associated with increased odds of being diagnosed with nonrefractive ocular pathologies. ConclusionsA clear health care gap exists between the ophthalmological disease burden of the HMH population and the amount of resources allocated directed toward their needs. Addressing risk factors such as low income and education, as well as increasing access to free eye examinations and visual aids, may be an effective method of attending to this lack of health equity.

STRUCTURAL EVALUATION OF NURUL HAQ SHELTER BUILDING CONSTRUCTED ON LIQUEFACTION PRONE AREA IN PADANG CITY - INDONESIA

West Sumatra Province, especially Padang City, is an area prone to the earthquake that is not only can trigger a tsunami but also liquefaction disaster. In order to face the disaster, the Padang city government planned to build as many as shelters as a vertical evacuation building. One of them is Nurul Haq shelter located in a coastal area that has high liquefaction potential. A structural evaluation of the shelter was conducted to check the capacity of the existing shelter structure in resisting the working loads. From the result of the soil evaluation, it was found that the soil in the shelter location has high liquefaction potential. Therefore, the shelter structure is analyzed using specific response spectrum of the earthquake loads considering soil liquefaction, which is 1.5 higher than those on the non-soil liquefaction. The tsunami loads were calculated used based on FEMA P-646. The analysis result shows that the shelter building is not capable of resisting the working loading, in which the elements of the beams and foundations don’t have enough capacity to resist the working loads, especially earthquake and tsunami loads. Furthermore, the shelter building should be retrofitted before being used as a vertical evacuation building.

Determining shelter locations in conflict areas by multiobjective modeling: A case study in northern Syria

The crisis in Syria broke out on March 15, 2011. Millions of people left the country, and many were displaced as well. In particular, internally displaced persons (IDPs) are facing difficulties in terms of shelter, health, food, and other needs. In light of this, the present study focused on determining shelter locations in Idleb, Syria. To this end, we utilized real data from the area, which were obtained from direct beneficiaries, and developed a mixed-integer weighted-goal programming model based on the humanitarian context. The objectives of the proposed model included maximizing covered demands, cash for work, up-scalable shelters, portable water, and sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities; covering people meeting vulnerable humanitarian criteria (people with disabilities, children attending school, pregnant/lactating women, and people with chronic diseases); and minimizing costs while considering the capacities and constraints of the located shelters. GIS (geographic information systems) was also employed in the analysis. The developed model was solved via an optimization package, and we obtained a global solution to the problem. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses were performed to deepen the research. Decision-makers can use the model's outputs and sensitivity analyses to achieve compromise solutions in similar disasters in other contexts.

PERAN MASJID SEBAGAI PUSAT INFORMASI DAN TEMPAT EVAKUASI SEMENTARA DALAM KESIAPASIAGAAN BENCANA GEMPABUMI DAN TSUNAMI KOTA PADANG

Indonesia is located at the meeting point of three tectonics plate namely Indo-Australian plate, Eurasian, and the Pacific plate. This causes Indonesia has a high geological changes and more geological disasters. No exception for West Sumatra which has a watermelon fracture has a high risk of geological disasters such as earthquakes and tsunami. This threat can disrupt the social, economic and cultural life of Padang City community. Therefore, the government and the community need to make various preparedness efforts to reduce the risks caused by the earthquake and tsunami. It is necessary to know how far the potential of community can be utilized for disaster preparedness in Padang City especially as information center and shelter. The system of disaster information and shelter are two factors that can realize the system of preparedness to be effective. This research used qualitative research method and study using case based on happened in 2 research area. The aim is to analyze the role of the mosque as the center of information and location of shelter in handling the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Padang city as well as the factors that influence it. Some of the mosques in Padang City have been used in providing disaster information to community through various media such as board bulletins, face to face activity, distributing brochures or through loudspeakers. The mosque in Padang City has also become a shelter for evacuees. The factors that influence the mosque to function as a disaster information center and shelter location are the community feel safe and comfortable when they stay in the mosque, the trust of community on information from the mosque is very high, supporting facilities such as electricity, clean water, places of worship, place of negotiation, toilets and places rest for shelter, facilities and infrastructure as information center, the board of mosque who will manage the information a shelter and the policy of government of Padang City which support mosque as information center and shelter location.

Social Media in Disasters

Introduction:Individuals may not receive messages via usual sources. Social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and social networking groups have been useful in the notification, information dissemination, safe notices, and reunification.Methods:A survey of the literature and of social media sites to determine what possibilities of notification, information exchange, marked safe, and reunification information that can be helpful in disasters.Results:Social media is useful during all phases of a disaster: pre-disaster notification, information dissemination during disasters, and safe notices/reunification post-disasterDiscussion:Social media is internet-based and requires a device that needs power. There is widespread internet access to various forms of social media, such as email, various broadcast sources, and social networking sites. Social media may provide pre-disaster warnings (weather alert app, reverse 911), evacuation/sheltering information, blocked routes, open gas stations, stores with supplies, hotels/motels with rooms, and shelter locations. Social networking groups were full of messages informing others they could shelter someone fleeing the California wildfires and recent hurricanes. Volunteers can be alerted and responses collected via social media groups. Social media may reach individuals earlier than official announcements, although sometimes accuracy may be in question. Rumor and malignant information source as well as inaccurate information are possible and may need to be managed. Separation is common during disasters. Knowing if their loved ones are safe and well, then reunifying is critical, especially for the vulnerable: children/infants, elderly, and disabled. Reunification systems need safeguards for vulnerable individuals who may be exploited or abused during disasters. In previous disasters (Hurricanes Maria, Mark, and others; California wildfires), when usual communication was nonfunctional due to downed power lines or damaged/destroyed substations; social media was deluged with individuals giving names and identifying information for family and others and asking whether anyone has seen or heard from them.

Shelter planning for uncertain seismic hazards using multicriteria decision approach: A case of Nepal earthquake

AbstractThis paper explores the location and relocation decision problem of temporary shelters under uncertain damage situations in humanitarian relief contexts. The article proposes a multicriteria decision support framework based on fuzzy sets, analytic hierarchy process, technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution, and weighted goal programming to address the issue of temporary shelter planning. The paper formulates a multiobjective location–relocation model that considers multiple objectives of risk, number of sites, unmet demand, qualitative suitability of locations, unmet demand, and nature of land ownership while generating solutions under different scenarios of earthquake damage. The robustness and performance of the proposed model are illustrated using a real case study of 2015 Nepal earthquake. The framework can benefit governments and humanitarian agencies in high‐seismic areas for adequate shelter planning under damage uncertainties.