A Dynamic Integrated Model for Disaster Management Decision Support Systems

Model integration is one of the most important and widely researched areas in the model management of Decision Support Systems (DSS). In current disaster management applications, independent DSS models handle specific decision-making needs but there are many advantages in combining these models. Therefore, there is a need for the selection and integration of such models. Previously, we presented a framework of modular decision support systems for disaster management. This paper extends our work towards the integration of modular subroutines which have evolved from the modular decomposition of DSS models. Model integration refers to the integration of different models into a single logical composite model. To achieve this, different approaches have been used in the past such as object-oriented, relational, graphbased, knowledge base and structured modeling. Our approach to the design and implementation of a dynamic integrated model for disaster management is based on four steps: (1) intelligent selection technique, (2) representation of the integrated model (3) creation of a domain base and (4) simulation of the integrated model. To further support our technique, a prototype has been implemented. We have demonstrated the usefulness of our approach by taking a hypothetical disaster scenario. The proposed technique to obtain an integrated model has been explored as a solution to reduce the complexity and inefficiency of dealing with multiple DSS models for disaster management.