DIVIDE TO CONQUER: PRIORITIZATION AND SEGMENTATION IN US&R SEARCH OPERATIONS
Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) teams regularly deploy to areas affected by large-scale disasters. The intention is for US&R teams to search the affected areas, rescue people in danger, and render aid. Determining where to conduct searches is a problem with unique variables for every incident. There is no current standardized process for creating and prioritizing search segments.This research explores how geospatial data can be leveraged to draw and prioritize search areas in wide area search operations. It examines readily available geospatial data to identify priority areas and compares those areas with information on the population and the built environment, including structures and roads, to understand the factors that help determine where search segments should be drawn.Reviewing the research data and operations of US&R teams, it becomes clear that search operations are similar to last-mile delivery logistics. This thesis treated wide area search as a delivery problem to exploit the logistical commonality. Based on this research, the Segmented Emergency Analysis for Response using Census and Hazards (SEARCH) tool has been developed to assist with drawing those segments.Ultimately, this thesis provides a ready-to-use geospatial tool to assist with search segmentation. The resulting search segments are enhanced with underlying population, structure, road, and area data to allow maximum flexibility in their use by US&R teams, depending on the incident.
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