Assessment and optimal locating of fixed and mobile stations of rescue and relief in rural areas of Guilan province with emphasis on unexpected disasters

There is a need for rapid response centers in unexpected disasters with balanced and equitable access to assess and to locate the optimal fixed and mobile stations of relief and rescue in Guilan province due to the extensive forest resources and abundant rainfall that sometimes leads to flood and wildfires, road accidents and earthquakes in one hand; and tourist attraction, high population density and dispersion of rural areas in Guilan province in other hand.
In this study, mixed methods research was used, quantitative method (AHP) and qualitative method for collecting data. Data collected with Interviewing experts and specialists, reviewing the records and previous documents by using the questionnaire. All experts and specialist in this field were studied as well as rural areas zoning of Guilan province (2935 villages). The non-probability purposive sampling method was used. The content validity was evaluated by Lavosh formula (0.86) and reliability by Cronbach's alpha method (0.88). For data analysis, expert choice and GIS software have been used.
Findings: Based on the output of the used models, 49 points were proposed for fixed stations and 34 points for establishment of mobile stations. Also, equipment needed for each station and the radius of its useful range were calculated based on the maximum response time to the incident.
According to the results, distribution of relief and rescue centers has not been done optimal with balanced access especially in rural areas. Therefore, fixed stations were suggested in villages with high risk aversion, and radius of their useful range was determined based on considerations of population density, activity and quality of the main routes. The considerable part of the initial risk areas, were not covered by functional stationary stations due to the lack of requirements for the fixed station construction. Therefore, in order to reduce the vacancy, it is predicted to create mobile and temporary station in some parts.