Models for humanitarian logistics

Emergency logistics is a process to organize and distribute resources during emergency conditions in the area affected by a disastrous event. By means of emergency logistics is possible to reduce disaster impacts that are natural or anthropic, after an event has occurred. During emergency conditions planning is needed to continue evacuation activities after the time when the final effects occur and people cannot be rescued. For evacuation activities resources must be identified to allocate in the area affected of the disastrous event according to elementary work classes. In this paper we focus on resources, in particular we consider the relief vehicles and their distribution channels. We propose two distribution channel models: the first one is transhipment, when the relief vehicles go to the emergency area with one contact point; the second model is point to point, when the relief vehicles go to the emergency area without any contact point.