Preparing for a new madrid earthquake: Accelerating and optimizing temporary housing decisions for shelby County, TN

In the early 1800s Central USA has experienced some of the strongest earthquake ground motions observed nationwide. A recurrence of these earthquakes would cause significant social and economic impacts affecting the lives of millions of residents. For instance, it is estimated that more than 60,000 families will need temporary housing assistance in Shelby County, TN, alone. Identifying temporary housing solutions for these families will be a challenging task, especially with the need for quick decisions. The objective of this paper is to present a case study that illustrates the use of automated multi-objective optimization in identifying optimal large-scale temporary housing plans for displaced families in Shelby County. These optimal plans have the potential to (1) minimize social and economic disruptions for displaced families; (2) maximize housing safety in the presence of a large number of potential post-disaster hazards; (3) minimize negative environmental impacts; and (4) minimize total public expenditures.