Using GIS in Disaster Response Operations

Earthquakes come first compared with other disasters concerning casualties and economic losses. Thousands of people need heath and logistic support after earthquakes. Therefore, legal authorities focus on finding best locations for logistics depots to reach the demand points as soon as possible. Linear and non-linear models are used to find depot locations. In this study, alternatively, geographic information system (GIS) is used to find the optimal locations of depots among candidates. A new model is introduced which cover the earthquake effects while estimating the vehicle speeds on road segments. Optimal locations of depots are found both with and without including the earthquake effects on vehicle speeds and travel times on the road segments in order to compare the results. A case study is applied for Bahçelievler town in Istanbul. Three depot locations are found among 21 candidate locations (facilities) for 62 estimated demand points. The results show that the depot locations are not necessarily the same whether the earthquake effects on travel times are included or not.

September 2017 Mexico City Earthquakes

The chapter presents the results on the performance of the SASMEX during the 2017 earthquakes that hit Mexico City. The approach has been the use of a questionnaire-based survey to a sample population of N=2,400. The results are discussed in the context of a systemic disaster management system (SDMS) model. A summary of the key findings are: 1) for the 07 September earthquake, age and occupation were significantly associated with the performance of the SASMEX system, to the extent that young (13-20 years old) participants considered the early warning system as very useful; however, employees considered it as “not at all” useful; 2) for the 19 September earthquake, age and occupation were significantly associated with the SASMEX performance. In particular, the subjects in the over-50 range considered the system as “not at all” useful, and students and employees regarded it as “very useful”; 3) given 1 and 2, it is necessary to further educate the residents of the capital city on the functioning of the SASMEX system (e.g., its strengths and weaknesses, warning time, etc.).

Collaborative Decision Making in Emergencies by the Integration of Deterministic, Stochastic, and Non-Stochastic Models

The author makes an analysis of the ICAO documents on risk assessment. To determine the quantitative characteristics of risk levels, models for decision-making (DM) by the operators (pilots, air traffic controllers, engineers) under risk and uncertainty have been developed. The new methodology includes the process of integration deterministic, stochastic, and non-stochastic uncertainty models. Application of artificial intelligence (AI) models for the organization of collaborative decision making (CDM) by all aviation operators using individual models based on general information on the flight. The CDM models involve an uninterrupted process of presenting information, ensuring the synchronization of decisions, and the exchange of information an acceptable level of efficiency and safety were obtained. Models of multi-stage DM in risk conditions are presented taking into account threats at the stages of development of the situation. In addition, the chapter presents some examples of DM in an emergency (light strike) by the author and students at National Aviation University, Ukraine.

Expectations vs. Practice in Critical Infrastructure Operator Crisis Communication

Previous research into social media in crisis communication has tended to focus on use by emergency managers rather than another key stakeholder, critical infrastructure (CI) operators. This chapter adds to this field by empirically investigating public expectations of information provided by CI operators during crisis situations. It does so by drawing on a review of the literature on public expectations of disaster-related information shared via social media. Then it presents the results of an online questionnaire and interview-based study of disaster-vulnerable communities in France, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden. Results indicate that members of the public expect CI operators to provide information via traditional and social media, but not necessarily respond to queries on social media. Operators appear to meet traditional media expectations but should expand their current practices to include digital media.

More Than Milling

During crisis events, emergency responders must verify the particulars of an event before sending out warning messages. The gap between an event's occurrence and official notification is often used by those impacted by that event to verify what is happening before taking action. The addition of information communication technologies has had an impact on what we term the verification pause. This pause is the amount of time it takes to verify what has happened before messages are received and before reaction can begin. More than milling about post notification, this understudied period of time is rarely visible for researchers. The present case study contains an analysis of a verification pause between an earthquake event and the actions taken by students in a classroom in a large university in the United States. The students in the classroom felt the earthquake and immediately began to search for verification that what they felt was indeed an earthquake. The authors conclude with a discussion of the utility of case studies and call for more focused analysis of the similarities between cases.

Criticality-Based Designs of Power Distribution Systems

The generation and supply of electricity is currently about to undergo a fundamental transition that includes extensive development of smart grids. Smart grids are huge and complex networks consisting of a vast number of devices and entities which are connected with each other. This fact opens new variations of disruption scenarios which can increase the vulnerability of a power distribution network. However, the network topology of a smart grid has significant effects on urban resilience particularly referring to the adequate provision of infrastructures whereby the way in which a distribution network is divided into interconnected microgrids is of particular importance. Such decompositions enable the systematic protection of important infrastructures and furthermore allow new forms of resilient power supply avoiding large-scale power blackouts. Therefore, the authors introduce a concept of criticality adapted to a power system relying on an advanced metering infrastructure and thereby propose a metric for an integrated resilience assessment of power distribution networks.

Human Resource Analytics as a Life-Jacket for Organizations Amid Crisis

With the advancement of information technology and the substantial increase in the production and usage of data, analytics has become an important new tool for effective decision-making processes in the organizations. The evolution of management to a digital and data-driven orientation has also caused a significant shift in the position of HRM from a more operational role to a strategic business partnership. With expeditious digitalization, along with the inevitable influence of globalization, human resource analytics (HRA) has rapidly become a crucial tool for organizations in all industries. Recent examples and catastrophic experiences, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have proven the vital role of HR analytics for organizations to survive in times of crisis. This chapter aims to summarize what HR analytics is, how it should be implemented and utilized, and how it will be effective and play a crucial role for organizations in order to be able to survive in a crisis situation.

Using Simulation to Understand and Respond to Real World and Cyber Crises

Crisis situations require decisions to be made rapidly and under higher pressure than under normal circumstances. In many cases, not all of the information required to make an optimal decision will be readily available, meaning decisions will need to be made with limited information or as information is being collected. This chapter considers how simulation can be used to prepare for and respond to crisis situations, both in the real world and in the cyber realm. To this end, prior uses of simulations are reviewed. Then a paradigm for the use of simulation to prepare for and respond to real-world and cyber crises is proposed and evaluated using four case studies. From this, general conclusions are drawn, and areas for additional study are identified.

Contributions and Responsibilities of Police Forces in Natural Disasters

In Vietnam, the presence of the police as primary responders is articulated in the Constitution and included in national legislation on disaster management as well as public security law. This chapter used desk-based research for data collection, including legal documents of government and Ministry of Public Security, to review and assess current policies and practices. Some selected case studies, based on available resources in disaster management of Vietnam between 1997-2017, are also utilized to illustrate for implementing eight main tasks of police in mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Findings pointed out that by implementing professional skills and effective measures, police in Vietnam played as core leading to support and assist the government and local citizens in natural disaster events. Some distinguishing features of police in a communist country to implement the ‘four on-the-spot' motto of police in natural disasters call for further studies in the future.

Case Study on Coaching Community College Faculty Member Experiences Transitioning to Online Education During COVID-19

This embedded case study focused on the experiences of coaches and community college faculty who participated in the coaching portion of an emergency remote transition project. The transition project was holistically designed to support community college faculty who had prepped for face-to-face courses and were shifting to remote teaching in a short period of time. Coaching services were one element of the project that also offered webinars, creation of short tutorial videos, and other support services. Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed. Coaching was successful in helping community college faculty transition from teaching in-person courses to fully online courses quickly. Community college faculty showed determination, resilience, and remained dedicated to their students' successful completion of the semester despite the worldwide pandemic.