{"57478":{"#nid":"57478","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Logistics ignored in disaster relief","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAtlanta Journal Constitution\u003C\/em\u003E - February 3, 2010 \u003Cbr \/\u003EColumn by Ozlem Ergun, Pinar Keskinocak, and Julie Swann, co-directors at the Center of Focused Research on Health and Humanitarian Logistics, and professors in the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. The earthquake in Haiti, tsunami in Indonesia, and Hurricane Katrina are all events that inspire us to help. In a rush of support, we make donations and expect quick results. With frustration, however, we see that there is a gap between the event and when supplies actually reach people in need. Why? In the case of Haiti, the infrastructure was completely destroyed. The main port and airport were not operational for the first 48 hours, making it impossible for aid to enter the country. Once the airport\u0027s runway was operational, there was chaos prioritizing which planes should land. Even after aid was on land, debris blocked roads with no available equipment to clear them. This is the conundrum that\u0027s plaguing relief workers and frustrating and confusing those donating money for recovery.  \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ajc.com\/opinion\/logistics-ignored-in-disaster-289549.html \u0022\u003ERead more\u0026gt;\u0026gt;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27279","created_gmt":"2010-02-03 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:06:22","author":"Barbara Christopher","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2010-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"57458","name":"ISyE External News"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=bt3\u0022\u003EContact Barbara Christopher\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}