Multi-Timescale and Multi-Agent Collaborative Allocation of Emergency Resources for Natural Disasters

Multi-Timescale and Multi-Agent Collaborative Allocation of Emergency Resources for Natural Disasters | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Multi-Timescale and Multi-Agent Collaborative Allocation of Emergency Resources for Natural Disasters Xin Wu, Kai Zou, Wenjie Kang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8049549/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 May, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The allocation of emergency resources serves as a critical lifeline in natural disaster relief, fundamentally determining survival rates, resources rescue efficacy, and the restoration of social order. There are two critical limitations in existing allocation models: 1) inadequate cross-agent coordination regarding fund and resource flows; 2) insufficient adaptability to dynamic uncertainties. To address these gaps, this study first proposes and models a multi-agent linkage mechanism to synchronize decision agent (fund), execution agent (procurement/transportation), and demand agent in disaster areas to holistically optimize economic costs, life-saving utility, and supply-demand balance. Multi-stage adaptive robust optimization is adopted to transform the above allocation model to a multi-timescale feedback model, integrating pre-disaster planning and post-disaster periodic adjustments under demand, procurement, and transportation uncertainties. For the convenience of solving, a linear reformulation technique is developed to convert the aforementioned nonlinear robust model into a tractable linear program using duality theory and semi-infinite constraint handling. A case study based on an earthquake scenario demonstrates the multi-timescale and multi-agent collaborative mechanisms significantly enhance resource allocation optimality, stability and robustness under multiple sources of uncertainty. Sensitivity analyses reveal optimal inflection points for key parameters such as time discretization and historical dependency depth, providing practical guidance for model deployment. Compared to deterministic, static robust, and rolling horizon methods, this study realizes notable improvements in allocation safety and a comprehensive rescue objective. Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing Earth and environmental sciences/Natural hazards Emergency resource allocation multi-agent collaboration multi-timescale adjustment uncertainty natural disaster Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 May, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 08 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 20 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 14 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 11 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 08 Dec, 2025 Editor invited by journal 12 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 11 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 11 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8049549","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":559985489,"identity":"7d82c1ae-6120-4825-acfb-d5eb43efedc4","order_by":0,"name":"Xin Wu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xiangtan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xin","middleName":"","lastName":"Wu","suffix":""},{"id":559985490,"identity":"09b0d54f-62ae-4d19-aaad-5b28f72d0dda","order_by":1,"name":"Kai 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multi-agent collaboration, multi-timescale adjustment, uncertainty, natural disaster","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8049549/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8049549/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe allocation of emergency resources serves as a critical lifeline in natural disaster relief, fundamentally determining survival rates, resources rescue efficacy, and the restoration of social order. There are two critical limitations in existing allocation models: 1) inadequate cross-agent coordination regarding fund and resource flows; 2) insufficient adaptability to dynamic uncertainties. To address these gaps, this study first proposes and models a multi-agent linkage mechanism to synchronize decision agent (fund), execution agent (procurement/transportation), and demand agent in disaster areas to holistically optimize economic costs, life-saving utility, and supply-demand balance. Multi-stage adaptive robust optimization is adopted to transform the above allocation model to a multi-timescale feedback model, integrating pre-disaster planning and post-disaster periodic adjustments under demand, procurement, and transportation uncertainties. For the convenience of solving, a linear reformulation technique is developed to convert the aforementioned nonlinear robust model into a tractable linear program using duality theory and semi-infinite constraint handling. A case study based on an earthquake scenario demonstrates the multi-timescale and multi-agent collaborative mechanisms significantly enhance resource allocation optimality, stability and robustness under multiple sources of uncertainty. Sensitivity analyses reveal optimal inflection points for key parameters such as time discretization and historical dependency depth, providing practical guidance for model deployment. Compared to deterministic, static robust, and rolling horizon methods, this study realizes notable improvements in allocation safety and a comprehensive rescue objective.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Multi-Timescale and Multi-Agent Collaborative Allocation of Emergency Resources for Natural Disasters","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-16 22:53:13","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8049549/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-01-08T11:40:04+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-20T14:49:11+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"29795915087292758063219899695402755552","date":"2025-12-16T15:54:40+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-14T07:44:43+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"295056504929031422193686557080827158145","date":"2025-12-13T20:21:04+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"172197425277849962968472141277313557421","date":"2025-12-12T14:00:03+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-12-11T06:30:04+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-12-08T12:19:19+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-11-12T12:55:34+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-11-12T02:01:09+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2025-11-12T01:56:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"5d293bf1-cadb-4a92-b166-7b8330e73552","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 16th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":59615455,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"},{"id":59615456,"name":"Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing"},{"id":59615457,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Natural hazards"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-05T10:00:49+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-8049549","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-48199-7","journal":{"identity":"scientific-reports","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Scientific Reports"},"publishedOn":"2026-05-02 15:57:22","publishedOnDateReadable":"May 2nd, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-16 22:53:13","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41598-026-48199-7","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-48199-7","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8049549","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8049549","identity":"rs-8049549","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}