Data Analytics And Disaster Management

How Data Analytics Aids Disaster Management

The frequency and magnitude of natural and man-made disasters have increased over time and millions of people are affected every year. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 235 million people needed disaster aid in 2021. The impending challenges of climate change and the steadily increasing global temperatures increase the likelihood of natural disasters in the coming years.  

The presence of social media and smartphones everywhere helps the government and other organizations to amass real-time information of people, which when probed can lead to crucial insights. Data Analytics Solutions aids the authorities to anticipate a disaster, prepare in advance, track population precisely and deploy rapid and effective mitigation efforts. 

Crisis Mapping 
Crisis Mapping involves gathering and analyzing real-time data pertaining to a large number of people in an area before, during and after the occurrence of a disaster. The information revealed by Crisis Mapping will help the authorities and relief workers to derive a clearer picture of the population of a disaster-affected area, empowering them to make informed decisions about the type and quantity of relief aid needed. Data Analytics Solutions are applied on data garnered by Mobile and web-based applications, geospatial platforms, aerial and satellite imagery, maps, and live simulation. The 2010 Haiti earthquake was one of the first disaster events to utilize the power of data for mitigation efforts. 
Follow this link to read about Ushahidi, a data analytics open software and discern how they used interactive mapping in Kenya to mark out violent areas after the disputed presidential election.

Connecting People 
Disasters cause the displacement of people and when thousands of people are affected, powerful Data Analytics Solutions are the easiest and most efficient way to connect people. Companies like Facebook and Google have features that would help people during emergencies to connect to their loved ones. Immediately after the Haiti Earthquake, Google introduced a new feature intended to help people during emergencies called ‘Person Finder’. This feature allows people to post information on missing people and help the ones who are displayed to get information about their family/friends looking for them. During the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, a crisis map was created to connect people to pharmacies, hospitals, shelters, and supermarkets near them. 

Facebook’s Safety Check is another feature that allows people to mark themselves safe from a disaster. Relief workers often use this feature to find people in distress when the services of satellites and geo-mapping are inaccessible.  

Emergency Preparedness
Data Analytics Solutions makes disaster forecasts easy and accurate. A clear indicator of a disaster might not occur all the time. In such cases, analyzing the climatic conditions, historic data, and other indicators such as the Local Disaster Index and Prevalent Vulnerability Index can predict disasters days or even months ahead. 

Advanced warnings about the time and scale of disasters allow the governments and other organizations to stack up their response resources and to evacuate the maximum number of people. Data strategies not only provide warnings but also proffer feasible strategies that would allow the communities and authorities to react more proactively. 

Data Analytics Solutions also enables simulations of various disaster scenarios that paves way for impeccable implementations. By analyzing the statistics of previous disasters, organizations can visualize which relief measures worked and which needs to be changed. 

Earlier the governments had to wait for the disaster to occur to determine its effect and to plan the mitigation. Now, with the advent of Data Analytics Solutions governments can forecast disasters way before its occurrence and ensure the efficiency of their disaster management plan. When it comes to Data Analytics Solutions for the Public Sector, there are many other ways that authorities can improve the quality of life of their citizens. Head over to the Site Lantern website and read about our data services specifically designed for the public sector.

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