A multi-objective optimization model for locating temporary treatment centers and logistic planning after a crisis

Transporting the injured people from the affected areas to the hospitals and medical centers and distributing the relief commodities are the most important activities during a disaster’s response phase. An efficient relief logistics planning can reduce fatalities in a disaster situation. In this study, a multi-objective, multi-commodity model is presented for locating the temporary medical centers in appropriate locations and allocating the affected areas to the hospitals and the temporary medical centers. Moreover, the relief commodities and injured people logistics are considered as well. The proposed model attempts to minimize the total cost and the weighted sum of unserved injured people. The total cost consists of the procurement cost of relief commodity, transportation cost, set up and shortage cost. The Lp-Metric method is applied to solve the multi-objective model. Finally, the proposed model is analyzed through a case study on an earthquake scenario in the Amol city of Mazandaran province.