Decision Support for Inland Waterways Emergency Response

Abstract:

Emergency management involving transportation resources requires thorough contingency planning due to potential route destruction and excessive vehicle demands. Incorporating multiple transportation modes into emergency operations planning is an obvious contingency action. Inland waterway transportation has the potential to provide emergency response services to a large geographic area of the United States. Our research provides decision support in order for emergency management teams to design effective and efficient inland waterway-based emergency response systems and improve their emergency operations planning. The developed Waterway Emergency Services Index and Emergency Response Barge System approaches are demonstrated on a four state region along the lower Mississippi River.

Keywords::

• Emergency Management
• Decision Support
• Transportation
• Inland Waterways