Using discrete event simulation to evaluate the logistics of medical attention during the relief operations in an earthquake in Bogota

Abstract

City of Bogotá the capital of Colombia, is located in a region with a high risk of natural disasters including earthquakes. Over the past few years the city officials have been developing high level emergency plans to cope with such disasters. However the current emergency plan lacks details on the logistics of medical attention. The motivation of this work is to evaluate the efficiency of the current emergency plan in attending the injured within the first four days of an earthquake. We present a simulation model to transfer the injured people to the temporary and permanent hospitals. The model takes into account the current capacity and occupation rate of the permanent hospitals, the current number of ambulances in the zone and the approximate duration of destructed routes among others. The model outcomes are used by the government agencies to reduce the uncertainty impact on planning the logistics of relief operations.