Location Problems Under Disaster Events

Abstract

Facility systems may be vulnerable to a disaster, whether caused by intention, an accident, or by an act of nature. When disrupting events do occur, services may be degraded or even destroyed. This chapter addresses problems of disruption associated with facility based service systems. Three main questions often arise when dealing with a possible disaster: (1) how bad can it get? (2) is there a way in which we can protect our system from such an outcome? and (3) is there a way in which we can incorporate such issues in our future designs and plans? The chapter addresses each of these main questions with respect to several classic location problems. Specifically, it discusses recent location models under disaster events along three main streams of research: facility interdiction, facility protection, and resilient design.