Disaster Technology (D-Tech): The Crucial Role of Technology in Effective Disaster Management

According to a report by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), in the period 2000-2019, the world recorded 7,348 major natural disasters, nearly doubling compared with the previous 20 years. The world has suffered from heat waves, floods, and earthquakes with a magnitude and impact rarely seen in history, raising a worrying signal for humanity.

The earthquake in Türkiye and Syria has caused global tremors and heavy losses. The World Bank reckons the quake caused $34.2 billion in direct material damage in Turkey, where at least 45,000 people died. In comparison, the death toll in Syria was more than 5,900 people and has caused an estimated $5.1 billion in direct material damage in Syria, making it even more difficult for the country engulfed in civil war for years.

Touching moment, the two children under the rubble in the Türkiye – the Syrian earthquake disaster

These worrying figures have prompted governments to put even more emphasis on disaster management, through a four-stage cyclical process known as the disaster management cycle, including preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. Currently, with significant progress, technology has played an essential role in disaster management, not only helping people protect the community and plan to respond to disasters but also helping exploit information helpful information in the future.

What is Disaster Technology (D-tech)?

Disaster Technology (D-Tech) was created with the belief that technological innovation will play an essential role in disaster management. Disaster technology (D-Tech) refers to technical solutions that can protect lives before, during and after disasters to minimize the impact of disasters on people’s lives, well-being and the well-being economy.

Adopting technologies for disaster management has brought ease in the collection, analysis, disposal and efficient use of resources, helping to support decision-making, preparedness and response in rescue operations, care and recovery. According to an update in February 2023 from Tracxn, about 200 companies in Emergency Management and Response globally exist.

The role of technology platforms used in disaster management

Big Data

• Prediction: Big Data is used to gathering insights and store data, then analyze and extract valuable data, helping forecast future incidents and identify groups of injured objects.
• Resource Allocation: BigData helps identify vulnerabilities and recommend where to allocate resources to mitigate risk. In addition, Big Data helps to see recovery, focusing on popular systems for early warning and resilience assessment.
• Minimizing economic impact: Big Data provides information on the interconnectedness of the economy, such as the destruction of rice can affect the transportation, trade, packaging, and retail sectors,… how? From there, the authorities will take appropriate countermeasures.

Blockchain

Currently, Blockchain is widely used in testing and automation, helping to automate data collection in disaster areas, thereby speeding up decision-making and enhancing support for victim rescue. In addition, Blockchain helps to reduce misinformation and build transparency between the government and the people.

Robotics

Surveillance cameras, drones, robots, etc., are now commonly used in rescue work, mainly searching for victims in difficult and dangerous terrain.

iCub robot – an Italian invention that supports complex manipulative skills, is expected to be the “front line” to deal with future disasters

Social media

Nowadays, social media is widely used and is a vast data store. It is an essential tool in disseminating disaster-related information, improving understanding of the causes of disasters, enhancing early warning systems, and tracking victims during disasters.

Typical Disaster Technology (D-tech) projects

Earthquake Help Project

The project was born when Turkey suffered heavy losses from the earthquake disaster in February 2023 to support the search for survivors under the rubble.

Earthquake Help a Project is a tool that scans social media for help calls, locates them, and then displays them on a heat map to uncover where people need help. So far, the application has received more than 100 thousand hits and positive feedback. “We got a notification that people were found in the rubble and saved thanks to this app. This is the real impact we were hoping for.”

PetaBencana

The PetaBencana.id – Indonesia platform provides a free, transparent emergency response and disaster management system for cities across South and Southeast Asia. During the recent floods in Indonesia, people often have an optimistic attitude and like to take pictures of the water to post on Twitter; the founders of PetaBencana noticed that these images and posts have a positive effect and can become a helpful data warehouse if properly exploited for threading and converted into expertly validated field reports.

The torrential rains in Jakarta in January 2020 were a test of the platform. Thousands of users used the PetaBencana chatbot to report rising water levels, and the resulting map was consulted more than 259,000 times during the height of the flooding that devastated the country’s capital, according to Twitter. In recent years, PetaBencana has extended open-source maps to help with earthquakes, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions.

PetaBencana.id electronic map provides flood-level situations through images posted by people on social networks

CogniCity 

Also, in Indonesia, realizing the sharing of information on people’s social networks during floods, the founder of CogniCity developed a system to help update information on a live map. This map expands access to all to capture the flood situation in different parts of the city, in which road sections are still moveable, are too highly inundated, and cannot travel by private vehicle. Government agencies and rescue organizations can also access this map to see which locations are in danger and need assistance from the authorities. After the floodwaters recede, this map becomes a rich data repository for organizations researching and responding to climate change. Thanks to its user-friendly interface, nearly 30 million people have joined and submitted information to the CogniCity network.

As climate change unfolds worldwide, the impact of natural disasters is expected to be even worse. Therefore, applying technology in disaster management and minimizing the adverse effects of disasters is essential and needs more attention and investment from governments.