The city of Chicago, Illinois is making strides to become more prepared for large-scale disasters. One idea is called a Regional Hub Reception Center (RHRC), which converts an existing facility into a temporary shelter for evacuees in the event of a 10-kiloton nuclear blast being detonated in the center of downtown. The RHRC will provide the evacuees with basic needs and register them for assignment at a more permanent shelter. The Regional Catastrophic Planning Team needs to know if its estimates for time, personnel, and resources are accurate. The best and most reliable way to test what will be needed is to perform simulations. However, large full-scale simulations are time consuming and expensive. A computer-generated model, however, can accurately simulate many variables and scenarios to test the RHRC quickly, cheaply, and repetitively to make it more effective if used. A computer modeling software tool, called AnyLogic, is a multi-paradigm modeling program that allows users to build agent-based, discrete event, and system dynamics models. The modeling paradigm that best suits the simulation of an RHRC is discrete event modeling. This is because a discrete event model represents a chronological sequence of events. When an event occurs in a discrete event model, it represents a change to the entire system. An RHRC is a chronological sequence of events and a system of systems that are constantly changing. As evacuees move through the RHRC, they flow through a predefined set of points, ranging from registration, to care, to shelter assignment, and many others. The data provided is supported by research or by personal field experience where research has not yet been performed. A model is a simulation of the real world. Though it does not represent the 100% of the variables that could occur in an actual simulation, it takes into consideration as many as possible to provide the most accurate results. The RHRC AnyLogic model is a simulation that estimates resource needs and processes of an RHRC. The RHRC model created to support this paper was developed using data collected by all students in Dr. J. Eric Dietz's Homeland Security Seminar graduate level class at Purdue University in the spring semester of 2012. The purpose of this study is to determine if the goals of the Regional Catastrophic Planning Team are attainable based upon the data collected.

Purpose – This study aims to provide data on the optimal staff, materials, space and time resources required to operate a regional hub reception center, a “short-term facility with the goal to process and transport displaced survivors (evacuees) to temporary or permanent shelters following a catastrophic incident” (Bonabeau, 2002). The facility will process approximately 20,000 evacuees over its entire seven-day duration following a disaster to assist in community resilience. Design/methodology/approach – The study was performed using a model created using the computer simulation software, AnyLogic. The software allowed for simulations to be performed on each of the three criteria: minimizing the space needed to run the hub, minimizing individual throughput time and minimizing total operation time. Findings – The results of the study demonstrated that the goals set forth by the Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin Regional Catastrophic Planning Team could be improved upon and that the largest contributing factor to optimizing the regional hub reception center (RHRC) is finding the optimal number of total staff members to operate the facility. Originality/value – The value of the study lies in creating a life-saving environment for evacuees who could otherwise not evacuate themselves. The assistance provided by the RHRC gives displaced survivors a safe and organized method for evacuating a large city after a disaster. The study shows how computer models can help improve resilience in an urban area by planning the most efficient methods for evacuating it should it be necessary.

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Modeling tests show statistically significant fewer casualties in scenarios where on scene armed responders such as resource officers and concealed carry personnel were present.