A multi-objective site selection model for evacuation centers in Taguig City, Philippines

The exposure of Taguig City, Philippines to multiple natural hazards underscores the importance of the proper location of evacuation centers. Although there are multiple guidelines that provide the criteria for the site selection of evacuation centers, none of these guidelines specified a model that determines the optimal location of the facilities. Moreover, none of the existing models completely conform to the criteria provided by the guidelines. This study proposes a multi-objective optimization model for city-wide site selection of evacuation centers. The model was designed to conform to the criteria, data, and methodologies provided by the official authorities of the Philippines and make it applicable to all cities and municipalities of the country. The model was tested to find the optimal location of evacuation centers in Taguig City. The result shows that the evacuation centers of the model solution have better coverage, a safer location, greater accessibility, and are closer to critical facilities when compared to existing evacuation centers in the city.