Disaster response is all about the supply chain. But, moving relief supplies into a region devastated by natural disaster is more complicated than commercial supply chain operations. Here, distribution equity, fairness, and speed trump costs.

By now, everyone has seen the pictures. Many have wondered, “Why not build an airstrip?” or “Why not land cargo on the beaches?” Seemingly obvious solutions have been complicated by a lack of everything. With an infrastructure torn asunder and a population with a dire need for the basic necessities, aid workers were faced with an unusable seaport, damaged airports and roads, no electricity, limited fuel, and poor communications. Not even the heavy equipment needed to clear the rubble was available on the island. Virtually everything had to come from outside the country.

“The lack of supplies in Haiti, combined with its inaccessibility, make a very difficult situation that is very different from the planning done in the U.S. for hurricanes and other disasters,” emphasizes disaster logistician Ann Campbell, Ph.D. professor of management sciences, Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa. In such a situation, “You have to build a supply chain really, really fast-as close to overnight as possible.”

Typical supply chains have ready communications, “But in disasters, you don’t have that. Cell phones are down, and the number of agencies involved can be very high.” Ideally, flights would be prioritized so that the aid that was most needed-and that could be unloaded-would land first. For example, Dr. Campbell says, a water purification unit arrived early on, before equipment that could unload it, so it sat on the plane, taking up much-needed airport space. Other supplies sat at the airport because distribution vehicles lacked gasoline.

The lack of gasoline in Haiti affected the number of trucks that were available to move supplies. The U.S. Southern Command planned for that, positioning some 20 ships offshore as lily pads for flight operations, providing an alternative to land-based facilities. Currently, approximately 63 helicopters ferry supplies to four main distribution sites before being trucked to more than 100 points throughout the affected region. Armed guards protected supplies from looters in the parking lots and repurposed buildings where they were stored before distribution.

“We brought in as much as we could,” remarked General Douglas Fraser of the U.S. Southern Command, while also acknowledging the constraints of a limited and badly damaged infrastructure. Given the choice to bring in food, water and medicine, or bring in heavy equipment to clear rubble, the food, water and medicine took the highest priority. As the situation eases, the military can hand off more of that mission to civilian organizations and provide the skills those organizations cannot-like offshore operations to bring in more aid and to clear the ports.

The earthquakes that destroyed Port-au-Prince created liquefaction and subsequent subsidence that made the port structures unsafe, according to civil engineer Brady Cox, professor of civil engineering, University of Arkansas, as he left for Haiti. Consequently, “You don’t dare put heavy equipment on the docks for fear they’ll break through.”

While the U.S. Southern Command’s Rapid Port Opening Elements was clearing the port at Port-au-Prince, the Department of Defense contracted with Crowley Maritime Corporation for experimental lightering operations. (Lightering is the process of transferring oil cargo between vessels of different sizes and is usually performed at port facilities that cannot accommodate large-sized oil tankers). The initial test unloaded 12 TEUs from a cargo ship to a barge and rolled onto the beach on wheels in what is surely a harbinger of things to come. That will boost capacity at the port to 250 TEUs per day. By early February, delivery to a temporary docking structure-a 400’ x 100’ flat barge-may be possible. “Then we will see about 800 TEUs per day,” General Fraser said. The same Crowley ship involved in the lightering operation also unloaded 56 TEUs of water and MREs (meals-ready-to-eat) at Rio Haina, Dominican Republic, where they will be trucked 10 to 12 hours to Port-au-Prince.

“You have to know the limits of the infrastructure,” General Fraser emphasized. Although “the airfield at Port-au-Prince is operating 24/7” and supporting 120 to 140 flights per day by late January, some 1,400 were on a waiting list to land. They are prioritized based upon a list of priorities the Government of Haiti has developed with the United Nations. “Now, a phone-in bank is operational, where people register for a slot time on the airfield, land, offload and depart,” he said. All four airports in Haiti are now open.

The relief efforts in Haiti were helped by the lessons learned after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast nearly five years ago. “It’s important to pre-position large quantities of goods that are needed immediately or that are hard to get quickly,” Dr. Campbell emphasized. After Katrina, U.S. aid organizations began storing more such goods, pre-positioned near-but not in-typical disaster zones, which helped speed this response to Haiti. wt



Gail Dutton is a long-time contributing writer to WT100.