MedISys

The Medical Information System (MedISys) is a fully automatic 24/7 public health surveillance system monitoring human and animal infectious diseases and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats in open-source media. In this article, we explain the technology behind MedISys, describing the processing chain from the definition of news sources, scraping and grabbing articles from the internet, text mining, event extraction with the Pattern-based Understanding and Learning System (PULS, developed by the University of Helsinki), news clustering and alerting, to the display of results. The web interface and service applications are shown from a user’s perspective. Users can display world maps in which event locations are highlighted as well as statistics on the reporting about diseases, countries and combinations thereof and can apply filters for language, disease or location or filters with orthogonal categories, e.g. outbreaks, via their browser. Specific entities such as persons, organizations and locations are identified automatically.

Efficient Deployment of ICT Tools in Disaster Management Process

This chapter will emphasize that efficient integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in disaster management process can help mitigation of impacts of disasters on people and the environment, minimizing the failures and maximizing the collaboration. It summarizes the nature of information flow and management processes during disasters and the potential of recent ICT at three stages of disaster management. The requirements and problems faced during their deployment at different stages of disaster management process are stated. The solutions for common constraints are discussed as well as the critical factors that should be considered in efficient deployment of ICT in the disaster management process.

Current State and Solutions for Future Challenges in Early Warning Systems and Alerting Technologies

The deployment of Early Warning Systems (EWS) and Alerting Technologies (AT) is one of the best measures for improved disaster prevention and mitigation. With the evolution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), we face new opportunities as well as new challenges for improving classical warning processes. This chapter concentrates on the main aspects of existing early warning systems and alerting technologies. Beginning with the definition and classifications in this field, we describe general approaches, representative systems, and interoperability aspects of EWS. Furthermore, we introduce a list of criteria for evaluating and comparing existing systems. It is worth noting that the deployment of an operational EWS is a complex challenge and remains a young field of research. This is due to many reasons, ranging from the political to the technical. The most critical issues regarding efficient alerting are described in this chapter, along with areas for future research.

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has more exposure to natural hazards than has been previously recognized. In the last 20 years the UAE has been subject to earthquakes, landslides, floods and tropical storms. This chapter examines the structure and procedures for management of natural disasters in the UAE, in particular issues of governance, accountability and communication within states that are part of a federal system. The study involved interviews with officials at both federal and emirate levels and case studies are presented of the impact of recent natural hazard events. Two emirates were selected for more detailed examination, Fujairah the most hazard prone and a rural emirate and Dubai which is a highly urbanized emirate which has undergone rapid development. There is now increasing awareness of natural hazards in the UAR and progress is being made at regional and federal levels. There needs to be a clear delineation between regional and federal roles and an understanding of the need for effective channels of information to relevant agencies.

Multimedia Educational Application for Risk Reduction

The 21st century has brought changes and innovations in educational technology that should be incorporated in the curriculum at all educational levels. Therefore, it is necessary to apply modern technologies in learning processes. This work was based on basic cognitive learning theories and principles, and used software, such as Freehand, Adobe Photoshop, Jigsaw Puzzle Creator, Brainsbraker and Jigsaw Puzzle Lite, to create a multimedia version of the SALTARIESGOS board game. The game was applied and validated with students from elementary school of 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th grades. The results we obtained can be considered satisfactory based on the student’s opinion, and the pedagogical strategy was as an effective tool for achieving our goals. The educational contribution of this interactive version of the game will promote and sensitize school community members at different urban and rural areas, in order to enhance the preventive culture in disaster risk reduction.

ICT Approaches in Disaster Management

We live in a world where there are potential sources of disasters with a potential to cause a loss all around us. We could be living close to a coastline that is prone to cyclones or mountainous region vulnerable to earthquakes. On the other hand, we might be living in a place where there may be frequent communal tension. Whatever is the area we live in; we need to be aware of our vulnerability to hazardous events. Better awareness about various hazards, proper education, training and preparedness will enhance the community resilience. Information and communication technologies in the form of audio and video (through community radio, village information centres, video awareness programmes through DVDs, etc) play a vital role in creating public awareness, giving education and training to vulnerable communities. This chapter aims to discuss the various ICT initiatives taken in the coastal districts of Tamilnadu, one of the seven coastal states of India.

Sensor and Computing Infrastructure for Environmental Risks

The SCIER platform is an integrated system of networked sensors and distributed computing facilities, aiming to detect and monitor a hazard, predict its evolution and assist the authorities in crisis management for hazards occurring at Wildlife Urban Interface (WUI) areas. The goal of SCIER is to make the vulnerable WUI zone safer for the citizens and protect their lives and property from environmental risks. To achieve its objective, SCIER integrates technologies such as: (1) wireless sensor networks for the detection and monitoring of disastrous natural hazards, (2) advanced sensor data fusion and management for accurately monitoring the dynamics of multiple interrelated risks, (3) environmental risk models for simulating and predicting the evolution of hazardous phenomena using Grid-computing. In this chapter we present the key software components of the SCIER system architecture, namely the sensor data fusion component and the predictive modeling and simulation component.

Integrating Scenario-Based Reasoning into a Multi-Criteria Decision Support System for Emergency Management

Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a technique for decision making among multiple alternatives for action providing transparent and coherent decision support for complex situations with conflicting objectives. Managing longer term decisions for environmental incidents is an application domain in which MCDA has proved useful. Yet a difficulty in applying MCDA is when uncertainties abound. Contrarily, scenario-based reasoning is a method allowing for the assessment of multiple possible future developments of the situation. In this way, the use of scenarios is a transparent and easily understandable way to integrate uncertainties into the reasoning process. We propose a mechanism to integrate scenarios. Our theoretical framework can be operationalised by decision support systems relying on both automated systems and human experts. These facilitate the assessment of consequences within a scenario, and may propose new scenarios. We illustrate this mechanism taking the decision making in emergency management after a train crash with potential release of chlorine as an example.

Social Media (Web 2.0) and Crisis Information

Social media technologies such as blogs, social networking sites, microblogs, instant messaging, wikis, widgets, social bookmarking, image/video sharing, virtual worlds, and internet forums, have been identified to have played a role in crises. This chapter examines how social media technologies interact with formal and informal crises communication and information management. We first review the background and history of social media (Web 2.0) in crisis contexts. We then focus on the use of social media in the recent Gaza humanitarian crisis (12.2008-1.2009) in an effort to detect signs of a paradigm shift in crisis information management. Finally, we point to directions in the future development of collaborative intelligence systems for crisis management.

Mathematical Models Generators of Decision Support Systems for Help in Case of Catastrophes

Immediately after the catastrophes that affected Venezuela at the end of 1999, especially the flood of the State of Vargas, a group of investigators of a consultancy company and of a private university of Caracas Venezuela, started working in decisions support systems (DSS) that could be useful in the moment of a catastrophe, helping to minimize the impact of its three principal stages: Pre-catastrophe, Impact and Post-catastrophe. Clearly, for the development of these DSS, it was indispensable to construct mathematical models to support them. The objective of this chapter is to disclose this experience by presenting some of these mathematical models and its conversion in DSS that supports decision making in the case of catastrophes.