Strategic Operations for International Rescue in Berechid, Morocco

This case study explores the strategic operations of International Rescue in Berechid, Morocco, focusing on logistics, decision-making, and efficiency in humanitarian relief operations.

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STRATEGIC OPERATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL RESCUE; A CASE OF BERECHID,
MOROCCO
Name of Student:
Name of Institution:
Date:

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1. Background
Ethics is a core value that ought to be observed when conducting humanitarian
response activities (Eric, 2017). This, however, is sometimes compromised by
organizations involved in such activities. There exists a political contribution in almost
all aids (Eric, 2017) as it has been proven that most aids are funded by governments or
international agencies.
The logistical challenge is a major hindrance to effective humanitarian operations
(Humanitarian Bulletin Ukraine, 2015). When logistics are not well planned and
coordinated, operations take longer and more lives are likely to be lost. This will
generally lower the effectiveness of the operation as the main objective of saving lives
wouldn’t be achieved optimally.
In an attempt to address the logistical hitches commonly face in post-disaster
operations, (Al Theeb, 2016) opted to invent a more realistic and efficient model that
factors in more than two logistical operations that can be used to better manage post-
disaster operations. Some of the variables under consideration in this paper include
wounded evacuations, commodity delivery, and assignment of relief workers.

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Understanding the process of a disaster enables adequate planning for proper
disaster management. For instance, in the case study given; the case of Berechid in
Morocco, there was a prior warning on the possibility of a disaster occurring. Up to 126,
000 people were evacuated as a result of the prior warning. This greatly contributed to
lesser resources needed to undertake the relief operations compared to what the cost
would have been if we had no warnings. Some of the fundamental factors contributing to
successful relief operations include pre-disaster training, accurate need assessment,
capacity planning, human resource management and technology utilization (Dangi,
2014).
In the case given, International Rescue has a responsibility of conducting a
successful relief operation for the people trapped in Berechid. This exercise requires them
to make a decision on whether to use C130 transport aircraft or Pouncer drones or both
for the supply of water and foodstuff. Under such circumstances, a number of factors
should be considered before making that decision. In earlier research, a scholar
recommends that some of the factors to be considered when choosing a supplier for a
humanitarian relief operation include their commitment requirements, reserve capacities,
pricing schedules and geographical coverage (Balcik, 2014).
The efficiency and readiness of International Rescue to handle this rescue task are
measured using the Fermi equation. Fermi principle is an estimation technique that
allows for quite accurate solutions to be derived from a set of incomplete data
(M.Fernández, 2011). The principles of this technique will play a critical role when these
calculations are being done.

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Having said that, below is a report on the role assigned to the International Rescue
on its assignment to rescue residents of Berechid, Morocco as assigned by the France
government.
2. The strategic intent of International Rescue
It is the intention of International Rescue to carry out this rescue operation swiftly
and within the confines of the law in order to ensure more lives are saved and that basic
necessities are supplied to the casualties.
3. Numeric database for International Rescue
Item Quantity
C 130 Transport aircrafts 5
Pouncer Drones 2000
AS532 Helicopters 100
Casualties 16,000
Hours available 72
Proteins 150 grams per person
Canned vegetables 500 grams per person
Water 7.5 per person
4. Interpretation of Numeric Database for International Rescue
The International Rescue organization has the role of rescuing 16,000 people from a
disaster zone in Merechid Morocco within 72 hours. During this period, there should be a
constant supply of essential services like water and food to help save as many lives as

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possible. To effectively deliver on this assignment, the organization has allocated five
C130 transport aircraft, one hundred AS532 helicopters, two thousand Pouncer drones,
and a stock of food and water.
5. A synthetic model with calculations based on the dataset
a) Demining approximate number of people evacuated per day
Time is taken by one AS532 Cougar helicopter from headquarters to Berechid in minutes
(35/249)*60=8.4 minutes. Add the 11 minutes loading time you get 19.4 minutes. This
is the total time taken by one helicopter from the headquarters to Berechid inclusive of
the loading period. Assume the landing space at the disaster zone can accommodate four
helicopters. In this case, in one trip, eighty people (20 per helicopter * 4) will be
evacuated. 72 hours is equivalent to three days.
Assuming the next batch of helicopters (4) leaves the headquarters immediately after the
first batch have been fully loaded by victims at the rescue area, in one day, the number of
helicopters visiting the rescue site is given by ( (24hrs*60mins)/19.4 = 74.2 ) *4
helicopters = 296.8
The number of people rescued in a day, therefore, would be 296.8*20 passengers= 5,936
people. The same number of casualties is evacuated on day two, leaving the number of
people to be evacuated on day three to be 16000 - (5936*2) = 4, 128
Total number of people not evacuated at the end of the first day is (16000-5936) = 10,064
people

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Table 1
Day Number of
helicopter trips
Capacity per
helicopter
Total number of
people evacuated
Remaining number of
people at the disaster
zone
1 296.8 20 5,936 10,064
2 296.8 20 5,936 4,128
3 206.4 20 4,128 0
b) Maximum weight of food and water required at the disaster zone in 72 hours
Total proteins and canned vegetates delivered on the first day is given by (150grms+500grms)
per person * 10,064 = 6,541,600 grams
Converted to kilograms you get 6,541,600/1000 = 6,541.6 kilograms. For day two we
have (4,128*650)/1000 =2,683.2 kilograms and nothing for day three as casualties will
have been evacuated.
Amount of water needed on day one equals 7.5 liters per person * 10,064 = 75,480 liters.
For day two we have 4128*7.5 = 30,960 liters and nothing for day three.

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Table 2
Day Casualties remaining Water in liters
(casualties*7.5)
Food in kilograms
(Casualties*650)
1 10,064 6,541.6 75,480
2 4,128 2,683.2 30,960
3 0 0 0
c) Maximum weight of food and water required during the final evacuation period
The average capacity for the articulated bus is approximated to be sixty people (Jung, et al.,
2019). Having this in mind, assuming the company transporting the evacuees from the HQ to
Marakesh has ninety-nine buses, 5940 people are transported in one trip (99*60). This implies
that all evacuees for one day are transported to Marrakesh the same day.
The amounts of food and water needed are therefore the same as those shown in table 2 above.
6. The most efficient and effective method to transport water and food from the
headquarters to the disaster zone

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The pouncer drone is physically strong and very flexible (Carman, 2017). The drone has an
inbuilt technology that allows for boiling water and adds other extruded food structures to boil
and eat. Furthermore, the drone is more accurate and can launch from up to 35 kilometers away
to reduce the risk for the plane and crew when dropped from an aircraft (Morby, 2017). C130
transport aircraft, on the other hand, has the ability to undertake a humanitarian relief operation
in the morning and be used in a military combat operation due to its speed (Heisler, June 2014).
It is very fast with a high capacity.
In consideration of these exemplary and unique features of the two machines, it would,
therefore, be prudent to use both of them in delivering food and water to the affected areas. This
makes the process faster and more efficient, leading to more lives being saved. This is the core
objective of International Rescue.
7. The rescue process; A diagrammatic representation
Rescue Helicopters (4) 8.4 minutes Food for casualties
35 km in distance
8.4 minutes
2hrs 7 minutes
8. Conclusion
International
Rescue
Headquarters
C
asualties in
Merechid
Marakesh town
All casualties rescued

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In conclusion, it is evident that International Rescue has the technical capabilities of
handling the task assigned to them. The organization had proper preparations as it awaited to
handle the assignment. This is a good indicator and shows that the organization has experienced
and competent management.
References

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Al Theeb, N. M. C., 2016. International Transactions in Operational Research. Vehicle routing
and resource distribution in postdisaster humanitarian relief operations, 12(2), pp. 2-14.
Balcik, B. A. D., 2014. Production and Operations Management. Supplier Selection for
Framework Agreements in Humanitarian Relief, 23(2), p. 1031.
Carman, A., 2017. The Verge. Tech company proposes edible drone to solve world hunger,
10(4), p. 4.
Dangi, H. K. B. A. K., 2014. International Journal of Emergency Management. Some critical
success factors in planning humanitarian relief operations in India, 10(3), p. 109.
Eric, J., 2017. Managing Humanitarian Relief -. An operational guide for NGOs, 23(2), pp. 2-21.
Heisler, T., June 2014. Congressional Research Services. The Background, Sustainment,
Modernization, Issues for Congress, 10(2), p. 4.
Humanitarian Bulletin Ukraine, 2015. Overview of humanitarian access and challenges. The
Journal of Humanitarian, 3(01 ), pp. 2-9.
Jung, et al., 2019. Local active control of road noise inside a vehicle. Overview of Transit
Vehicles, 121(10), pp. 2-7.
M.Fernández, F., 2011. Applied Mathematics and Computation. Rational approximation to the
Thomas–Fermi equations, 217(13), pp. 6433-6436.
Morby, A., 2017. Edible Pouncer drone will deliver aid to victims of natural disasters and
conflict. The Journal fo Humanitarain, 20(5), pp. 1-7.