Evaluation of Humanitarian Supply Chain Resilience in Flood Disaster

Abstract

Frequent natural hazards such as flooding and the devastating consequences of severe events make the humanitarian supply chain particularly important in alleviating the suffering of those communities impacted by such events. However, the ambiguity of information and the different goals of stakeholders demand that the humanitarian supply chain must be resilient. This research adopts the use of literature review and expert opinions to identify the indicators that affect the resilience of the humanitarian supply chain using the flood event in Hechuan District, China in 2020 as an example. Based on the combination of fuzzy Decision-making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory and Analytic Network Process (fuzzy-DEMATEL-ANP), the interrelationships between the indicators and the weights of each indicator are calculated. The research results indicate that decision-makers in the humanitarian supply chain should vigorously coordinate the cooperation among stakeholders, ensure the effective transmission of information, and formulate forward-looking strategic plans. At the same time, these key decision makers should also be aware of the need to adjust their strategies at different stages of the flooding event in order to achieve a flexible humanitarian supply chain that responds to the varying demands over the course of a flooding event. The results of this study will help professionals involved in humanitarian supply chains to develop strategies and plans to become more resilient thus helping to reduce losses from natural hazards such as floods.