Technology Sectors
Disaster Preparedness 2011: Two modern challenges for disaster management
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Zvi Moshkoviz |
Today, more than half of the world’s populations live in cities, and that figure is expected to reach 60 percent by 2030.
Large, modern cities function thanks to a complexity of infrastructure systems that deliver and manage energy, water, food, traffic, healthcare, mass transit, sanitation, environmental monitoring, etc. Working together, these systems make it possible for businesses and citizens to go about their daily activities.
The critical importance of coordinated integration between these support systems becomes more and more evident each day, as urban managers work to allocate limited resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. Rapid urbanization leads to high-rise buildings, densely populated areas, overloaded transportation systems and growth of hazardous workplaces, such as oil and gas facilities and nuclear power stations. As urban areas further expand, the potential for losses stemming from natural and/or man-made disasters increases and traditional disaster-management methods become inadequate.Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) from which disasters are managed have dozens of screens displaying information such as weather updates, traffic conditions, local TV news, high and low tides, public transportation updates and emergency responders’ locations. They receive data from a range of sources, including Websites, radios, sensors and other external systems. But, because there is so much data, it must be intelligently processed and parsed in order to provide true value.
In an emergency, actions based on weak data can do more harm than good. Imagine an ambulance bringing burn victims from a chemical explosion to the nearest hospital without knowing that (a) the fastest route to the hospital is blocked due to roadwork; (b) an unrelated traffic accident has made the route slower; (c) the hospital’s chief burn specialist was recently transferred to a different facility; or (d) the hospital is already filled to capacity and can accept no additional patients.
The influx of information in most EOCs is beyond the capacity of any human being -- or team of human beings -- to process.
To deal with modern emergencies, national and municipal emergency management organizations are trending toward implementation of disaster preparedness and response software and other technical solutions with the following capabilities. While technology alone is not the answer, when combined with operational know-how and human expertise, improved preparedness and response performance can save lives, reduce costs and avoid some disasters entirely.
With the proper emergency preparedness and response simulation tools, decision-makers and leaders of first responders can develop communication and coordination skills; design response plans based on predicted event progression; and monitor both response execution and the cascading effects of the response.
“What if?” scenarios, mathematical modeling and simulation tools that enhance first-responder training provide clear expectations and test the impact of various response activities. Ad-hoc scenario builders, data simulators and universe modeling allow side-by-side views of real and simulated scenarios, as well as hybrid simulations where some data are simulated while other data are real (live).
Preparedness and response do not take place in a vacuum; rather, they are performed within a context composed of spatial qualities, urban characteristics and a population living where operations take place. For example, preparing for and responding to a flood on flat terrain in a sparsely populated area is very different from preparing and responding to a similar event in an area filled with people and critical assets, and in close proximity to a nuclear plant. Depending on the situation, appropriate preparation and response will vary with respect to evacuation plans, required resources and shelters, expected number of casualties, etc.
Building an understanding of the context is a complex assignment, requiring a grasp of fluctuations in emergency-related data and key performance indicators (KPIs). Realistic contexts are built using universe descriptors (i.e., a government’s emergency-related data) and event descriptors (data related to the probability of future events and their progress, once they take place). With the proper technology on board, the more data there is available, the more relevant the predictions and intelligent the decisions one can make.
Many national and municipal emergency management organizations are beginning to deploy smart information feeds, such as sensors and data repositories. Technology solutions for emergency management should allow for the gradual addition of new data sources (e.g., video cameras and license plate recognition sensors) as they become available. Technology should also provide simple, affordable interfaces where relevant information can be obtained either in an automated manner (e.g., from Twitter and other sources on the Web) or by dedicated solutions, such as data entry portals, mobile devices, etc., where data entry may be allowed periodically or continuously. Ideally, the data is layered on top of a geographic information system (GIS) designed to provide real-time feeds, event histories, predefined plans and the designs and procedures of assets in the managed area.
Today’s emergency-management technologies enable quick and easy communication between stakeholders through audio-video conferencing systems and by providing a view of plans, operational pictures and execution status to all users. This feature facilitates collaborative decision-making by remote teams.
Tools also allow emergency managers to communicate key messages to the public over a wide variety of channels, including mobile, Internet and proprietary devices.
Zvi Moshkoviz is director of product marketing for 3i-MIND. He can be reached at:
