Smart Decision, Swift Rescue: An Analytic Hierarchy Process Analysis

Floods are one of the most frequent and dangerous natural disasters around the world, exacerbated by rapid urbanization which increases risk in densely populated urban areas. Vulnerable groups, including women, infants, and the elderly, are affected as they experience increased exposure to various risks and require timely rescue interventions. In flood rescue operation, where lives are at risk, time is an essence. This study explores the factors that influence decision‐making in flood rescue operations to enhance operational efficiency and save lives. The analytic hierarchy process, a decision‐making tool, is utilized to prioritize and rank the factors based on their importance. The findings reveal that human‐related factors are predominantly taken into account, as the aforementioned groups face the highest risk during disasters, necessitating immediate rescue efforts to prevent loss of life. Meanwhile, operational factors highlight the importance of the rescue agency's preparedness prior to a disaster, ensuring that resources, training and personnel are sufficient to carry out an effective flood rescue operation. Following these are environmental, facility, and information factors. In addition to enhance flood rescue operation, more thorough flood response guidelines are proposed, providing valuable insights for policy‐making, training programs and crisis management in emergency situations.