This book covers scientific approaches and issues thereof to predicting, preparing, and responding to large-scale disasters. Even though scientific models may help tremendously in capturing most of the facets of each of these three stages, softer and hard-to-model issues surface at their interface. This chapter primarily looks at the soft issues at the interface of preparation and response which is logistics. Logistical problems in the private sector have been widely researched in the field of operations research and management science. This chapter reviews some of these modeling approaches that relate to disaster relief. However, the logistics of disaster relief present certain complex challenges that cannot be easily incorporated into mathematical models, yet directly affect the outcome of relief operations. Such challenges are the main interest of this chapter.

Introduction

In 2003, 700 natural events caused 75,000 deaths (almost seven times the number in 2002) and more than $65 billion in estimated economic losses, and affected 213 million people (United Nations Economic and Social Council [ECOSOC], 2004).