CRITICAL PATH ANALYSIS FOR DISASTER RELIEF EFFORTS IN TYPHOON HAIYAN-AFFECTED MUNICIPALITIES BASED ON MULTI-CRITERIA EVALUATION APPROACH

facilities ABSTRACT: The Philippines is traversed by an average of 20 tropical cyclones annually. This exposes communities to various hydro-meteorological hazards like strong winds, floods, rain-induced landslides, and storm surges. The delivery of relief services is crucial to ensure that affected communities can recover after these hazards. However, this may be hampered by roads that were damaged or deemed impassable in the said events. This study would map the critical facilities (evacuation centers, hospitals, and government buildings) and the road network. It will employ the use of a population density map generated from delineated built-up areas and the projected population estimates based from previous census results to integrate service area capacity of each critical facility. It would then employ a multi-criteria evaluation approach that considers accessibility, service coverage of critical facilities, and possible debris accumulation (ie. vegetation knocked down by strong winds, rubble from flood and storm surges, landslide deposits). Using network analysis in a Geographic Information System, critical and most efficient routes in transporting relief services will be determined. The identified critical path will be prioritized for clearing operations in times of disasters to ensure the effective facilitation of disaster response efforts. The outputs of the study can be use