Mobile Ad-Hoc Network Performance in a Disaster Management Scenario

A post disaster situation demands an efficient communication and coordination among rescue teams. Exchange of real time information among responders and emergency management centers is crucial for saving lives. In such scenario, MANETs are suitable for providing communication mechanism, as they are easy to deploy and do not require elaborate infrastructure. In this paper, we have considered that the relief and rescue operations in a post disaster situation are managed at three stages, viz: Disaster core location (incident-location), first aid treatment area and hospital area, with a relief ambulance as a link between them. The communication between the stages is considered to be provided by a MANET based network setup. Mobility of MANET nodes between the three stages has been modeled with Reference point group mobility (RPGM) based on attraction level. Performance of ad hoc network is analyzed for reactive (AODV [1, 2]), proactive (OLSR [3]) and hybrid (ZRP [4]) protocols. Our simulation studies conducted on Qualnet indicates that both the mobility model and routing protocols affect the communication between the stages.