A p-Robust Location-Allocation model for Resilience-Oriented collaborative emergency response network in urban agglomerations

Disasters that can occur unexpectedly pose significant threats to human life, health, and property. When such events take place in urban agglomerations, their impact is likely to become more complex. In the present study, we focus on the emergency facility location-allocation problem and explore regional collaboration strategies to effectively address the challenges posed by urban agglomerations. We develop a collaborative emergency response network design framework and propose a collaborative emergency facility location-allocation model for the problem. Given the intrinsic relationships among emergency operations, the model integrates the planning of facility location, victim evacuation, casualty transfer, and medical supply allocation. Moreover, given the uncertainty in the number of casualties, we employ a p-robust optimization model. The model, which formulates with bi-objectives of cost and resilience, is solved using an augmented ε-constraint method and applied to a case in the demonstration zone of green and integrated ecological development of the Yangtze River Delta. Our simulation results reveal that, compared to the existing territorial priority strategy, the regional emergency collaboration strategy increases network resilience by 19.51% and reduces emergency response time by 1.26 h. In addition, we conduct sensitivity analyses on various parameters and provide managerial insights to improve emergency operations in urban agglomerations.