Developing a decision support system for emergency response management

Abstract

In this project, a decision support system that optimally allocates resources to mitigate the risk of damage in the aftermath of a natural disaster, terrorist attack or other hazards is developed. An emergency response model is presented, together with a case study of simulated districts, hazards, resources and other conditions to allow readers to have a better idea of how is this model utilized in real-life situations. The decision support system built on the basis of the underlying emergency response model is programmed using the user friendly MS Excel / VBA. The system is design to lead the user through a series of interactive questions (programmed using VBA codes), the user is required to enter data to run the program. The method of optimizing the allocation of resource embedded in the program is based on an ad-hoc intuitive algorithm, which allocates the resources by mitigating hazards with the highest risk. The user manual for the decision support system included in this project allows the reader to have a better understanding of how this program is created and how it should be used. Limitations and further improvements on this project are also mentioned at the end of this document.