Towards a rapid assessment of highway slope disasters by using multidisciplinary techniques

Mega-earthquakes and extreme climate events accompanied by intrinsic fragile geology lead to numerous landslides along mountain highways in Taiwan, causing enormous life and economic losses. In this study, a system for rapid slope disaster information integration and assessment is proposed with the aim of providing information on landslide occurrence, failure mechanisms, and subsequent landslide-affected areas to the highway authority rapidly. The functionality of the proposed system is deployed into three units: (1) geohazard rapid report (GeoPORT I), (2) multidisciplinary geological survey report (GeoPORT II), and (3) site-specific landslide simulation report (GeoPORT III). After landslide occurrence, the seismology-based monitoring network rapidly provides the initial slope disaster information, including preliminary location, event magnitude, earthquake activity, and source dynamics, within an hour. Within 3 days of the landslide, a multidisciplinary geological survey is conducted to collect high-precision topographical, geological, and remote-sensing data to determine the possible failure mechanism. After integrating the aforementioned information, a full-scale three-dimensional landslide simulation based on the discrete element method is performed within 10 days to reveal the failure process and to identify the areas potentially affected by subsequent disasters through scenario modeling. Overall, the proposed system can promptly provide comprehensive and objective information to relevant authorities after the event occurrence for hazard assessment. The proposed system was validated using a landslide event in the Central Cross-Island Highway of Taiwan.

Information Preference and Information Supply Efficiency Evaluation before, during, and after an Earthquake: Evidence from Songyuan, China

Efficient risk communication is aimed at improving the supply of risk information to meet the information needs of individuals, thus reducing their vulnerability when facing the risk of emergency. There is little information available in the literature regarding information preference from an individual’s need perspective, and there is a lack of differentiation in evaluation between information need and supply. Under the guidance of the crisis stage analysis theory, using multiple response analysis and weighted analysis methods, this study explores earthquake disaster information content and communication channel preferences, and develops an information deviation index (IDI) to evaluate the efficiency of risk communication before, during, and after an earthquake. A questionnaire-based survey of 918 valid respondents in Songyuan, China, which had been hit by a small earthquake swarm, was conducted to provide practical evidence for this study. The results indicated the following. Firstly, the information needs of individuals are highly differentiated in the different stages of an earthquake. From pre-disaster to post-disaster, individuals show a shift in information need from “preparedness and response knowledge” to “disaster information”, then to “disaster information and disaster relief information” in parallel, to “reconstruction and reflection information”. Based on the above analysis, a composition of the main earthquake disaster information is proposed for different stages. Secondly, by measuring the values of the IDI, we found that most individuals’ information needs were met for the earthquake. Thirdly, the TV and the internet were the two preferred commutation channels for acquiring disaster information from among all the effective channels in all the stages.

Social Cohesion through Social Media as Part of Disaster Information System in Disaster Prone Area

Social media is one of the disaster communication means for social cohesion in information retrieval. However, Karo Regency has limitedly use WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. This study aimed to evaluate social media Instagram and Facebook as part of the disaster information system in disaster-prone areas to improve social cohesion in Karo Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia. This study combined qualitative and quantitative evaluation. Qualitative evaluation steps consist of (1) setting goals; (2) classification; (3) stating structured goals; (4) collecting data; (5) analyzing results of observations and measurements. Based on the evaluation, Instagram has been inactive since April 1, 2020, and Facebook has been inactive on August 17, 2017, due to the absence of competent human resources (HR). The use of internal WhatsApp groups is due to the unpreparedness in dealing with public comments. Based on a survey in early June 2021 to the Karo community showed that 56.3% of respondents were familiar with the Karo BPBD social media. The trust level of social media users for social cohesion in the disaster-prone area of Karo Regency was very high at 56.3%. Respondents believed that information conveyed through social media uploads is able to improve social cohesion in dealing with various disasters. This is formed because of the sense of belonging, social trust, generalized reciprocity, and social harmony. This study contributed in the form of BPBD policies in managing social media as an information system to improve social cohesion in the disaster-prone area ofKaro Regency. The new findings theoretically added caring in Johnson's Social Cohesion Theory.

Mixed Reality Maps to help convey disaster information

In safe and industrialized nations most people have only been sporadically in contact with disaster information. But nevertheless, suitable cartographic products are needed to support first aid responders and help teams trying to save as many lives as possible in disaster events. The spatial information on which these teams have to rely on are currently maps without any interactivity and flexibility which was detected by a requirements analysis asking stakeholders working in the field of disaster management. Based on this analysis a tabletop mixed reality application was developed. Within the application two case study scenarios were integrated. Both scenarios together showed the flexibility of the mixed reality approach for representing disaster information in a suitable and feasible way. The first scenario illustrates a large fire event as well as several additional information sources which can assist response and management teams in various directions. The second scenario displays an earthquake event visualizing damaged and destroyed houses and streets. This scenario as well integrates many different information sources and spans from small scale area visualizations to large scale indoor maps for highlighting e.g. injured people in distinct rooms or floors. The resulting application was evaluated by experts. First the application was presented and explained to the experts. Afterwards the experts were asked in a structured interview how they would evaluate the usability and willingness to use such an application in real scenarios. The experts were impressed by the available possibilities in representing and integrating disaster information via the tabletop mixed reality approach yet mentioned that a head mounted device compared to a smartphone would be more beneficial in practice.

Development of Drought Information System at Remote Sensing Application Center, National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN)

National Earth Monitoring System (SPBN) is a natural resource and disaster information system developed by Remote Sensing Application Center, National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN), Indonesia. Drought information system is one of the SPBN disaster information products, consisting of Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Vegetation Greenness Level (TKV), and monthly accumulation of rainfall information. The quality of information products are improved towards data processing automation as well as provision of user-oriented products. The purpose of our research is to report the existing of drought information products at SPBN-LAPAN, to present briefly the automation process and also to analyze the result of the products. In this study, the “new” drought index information, which developed by blended of two datasets (TKV dataset that characterized agricultural drought and monthly rainfall dataset that characterized meteorological drought), using threshold method has introduced. The level of drought index is divided into five classes, namely cloud/water, severely dry, dry and normal

Dissemination of Disaster Communication and Information via Instagram @bpbdkaro

The social media Instagram @bpbdkaro as a source of communication and disaster information dissemination in the Karo community is no longer active. The purpose of this study was to find a disaster communication planning model in the communication and information dissemination process from the Karo Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) to the community through the Instagram @bpbdkaro social media account. This study uses qualitative evaluation research methods, data collection techniques with Focus Group Discussion and interviews with Instagram managers, the Head of Planning for the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), and field observations. Quantitative evaluation method with data collection techniques is carried out online through Google Form to 50 people who use social media randomly. The evaluation results show that Instagram social media is used by the majority of respondents (28%) as the main source of searching for disaster information in Karo, but @bpbdkaro social media is not active because the Karo Regency BPBD does not dare to face negative comments from the community and the unavailability of human resources to manage it. This causes the dissemination process of disaster communication and information through social media Instagram @bpbdkaro not going well to achieve the goal due to the lack of elements of communication planning. The results of the evaluation of researchers with BPBD Karo Regency have carried out communication planning referring to the Cutlip and Center planning theory by covering elements of fact determination, planning, communication, and evaluation. The theoretical new findings in this study provide additional elements of communication competence and resources in the Cutlip and Center Communication Planning Model. The substance of this research contributes in the form of recommendations for communication planning models for the dissemination of disaster communication and information through social media.