How does accessibility to post-disaster relief compare between the aging and the general population? A spatial network optimization analysis of hurricane relief facility locations

When maximizing the effectiveness and equity in hurricane disaster relief provision, most research has explored the needs of various socioeconomic groups. Besides income, the age of the population can also be an important metric of equity, as evidenced by the disproportionate death toll in New Orleans' aging population caused by Hurricane Katrina. Yet emergency management and transportation research has not given sufficient consideration to the impacts of age-based demand on the provision of disaster relief. This paper looks at relief distribution to non-evacuating populations in a post-disaster disaster setting to compare the accessibility to relief of the aging vs. other populations. A p-median based modeling framework linked to a geographic information system (GIS) is employed to explore the influence of the age of potential hurricane non-evacuees on the decision of where to site relief distribution facilities in Leon County, Florida. It was found that the average travel time between neighborhoods and sited nearest facilities varies as a function of demand specifications with the Population age 65 and over tending to bear a relatively higher burden of the travel time, which may limit their accessibility to post-disaster relief in comparison with the Total Population as well as those aged under 65. Changing how relief demand is represented (in terms of age) results in changes to the sited relief facilities' spatial layouts. Our results suggest the need for emergency planners to consider aging populations and their disaster-related needs into future planning efforts to ensure a more equitable disaster relief distribution system.