A disaster environmental simulator

Abstract

He also consults in computer science with numerous agencies throughout the Southwest.Dr. Richie's specific research interests are in information theory, real-time data acquisition and real-time data reduction.His interest in simulation is an extension of these areas. His professional societies are IEEE, SIGMA XI, and ASEE. Handball, fishing, and snow skiing are Dr. Richie's recreational activities.ABSTRACT A Disaster Environmental Simulator (DES) has been developed for the study of resources allocation in a potential disaster locality and for the training of disaster managers. The DES is composed of four computer programs—Disaster Effects, Medical Inputs, Decision Cycle, and Mortality/Recovery. A potential disaster locality is divided into geographical areas. Within each geographical area, an inventory is established. The inventory consists of people (nonmedical people, doctors, nurses, and medical technicians) and things (vehicles, medical supplies, and hospital facilities). The Disaster Effects (DE) program applies damage to things and injury or death to people. The DE establishes the initial conditions of the disaster, which represent the disaster areas and their status immediately postdisaster. The DE categorizes the injured into injury classes and levels of required care within each injury class.Death and recovery of the injured are described by class and level of care. This description is in terms of medical treatment personnel, medical supplies, and medical facilities available for the treatment of the injured as a function of time. The Medical Input program processes this description to obtain mortality/recovery functions, supply requirement functions, personnel requirement functions, facility requirement functions, and penalty functions. These functions are then used by the Decision Cycle program.The Decision Cycle program allows disaster administrators or researchers to allocate available resources to casualties in accordance with priorities. The treatment