Quantifying the Impact of a Tsunami on Data-Driven Earthquake Relief Zone Planning in Los Angeles County via Multivariate Spatial Optimization

• Main Authors: Yueqi Gu, Orhun Aydin, Jacqueline Sosa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: Geosciences
• Subjects: tsunami; earthquake; relief zone; resource allocation; spatial optimization
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/11/2/99

Post-earthquake relief zone planning is a multidisciplinary optimization problem, which required delineating zones that seek to minimize the loss of life and property. In this study, we offer an end-to-end workflow to define relief zone suitability and equitable relief service zones for Los Angeles (LA) County. In particular, we address the impact of a tsunami in the study due to LA’s high spatial complexities in terms of clustering of population along the coastline, and a complicated inland fault system. We design data-driven earthquake relief zones with a wide variety of inputs, including geological features, population, and public safety. Data-driven zones were generated by solving the p-median problem with the Teitz–Bart algorithm without any a priori knowledge of optimal relief zones. We define the metrics to determine the optimal number of relief zones as a part of the proposed workflow. Finally, we measure the impacts of a tsunami in LA County by comparing data-driven relief zone maps for a case with a tsunami and a case without a tsunami. Our results show that the impact of the tsunami on the relief zones can extend up to 160 km inland from the study area.