National Conference on Recent Advancements in Civil and Environmental
Engineering held at BRCM CET, Bahal during 27th-28th November, 2015
2015
ROLE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR EFFECTIVE DISASTER
MANAGEMENT
Priyajit Dash1 and Arabinda Sharma2
1Electronics
and Communication Engineering Department, BRCM CET, Bahal-127028, Bhiwani, Haryana
2Civil Engineering Department, BRCM CET, Bahal-127028, Bhiwani, Haryana
Email: dash.priyajit@gmail.com, arbind_78@rediffmail.com
Abstract: This paper investigates on the role of ICT
towards improving the disaster readiness and hence,
reduces the losses incurred. Many countries of the world
experience varied and varying effects of the disasters
depending on their physical, social, political and
economic environment. These disasters have negative
effects which include: loss of human and animal life; loss
of property; and destruction of the livelihood systems, so
there is need to find ways of minimizing the negative
effects of disasters through timely response and proper
management of disasters. Technologies both old and
new can help in reducing the effects of disasters in
various ways. The ICT can play important role as a
medium of information and communication for better
disaster response. Disaster management system based
on GIS web services exclusively designed to handle the
disaster such as tsunami, flood, earthquake, cyclone etc.
The necessity of the system is many people lives in
danger because of lack of providing timely help to the
affected victims and tardy response of relief works.
Disaster management system incorporates with GIS web
services to identify the affected areas and possible
routes to reach the location. To the general public the
system provides the information of getting the medical
aid and relief materials to the deceased victim. Recent
disasters proved that despite past experiences and
strong disaster management mechanism in disasterprone countries, life and property losses are still
inevitable.
Keywords: Information and communication technology
(ICT), Disaster Management, GIS, Disaster risk
reduction (DRR.)
I.
Introduction
The natural disasters frequency has been increasing for
the last 30 years in the world, having caused so many
damages and losses of lives, property, employment and
damage to the physical infrastructure and the
environment. Disaster management (DM) including
disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts aim to mitigate or
avoid the potential losses from hazards, assure prompt
and appropriate assistance to victims of disaster, and
achieve rapid and effective recovery. While data,
information, knowledge and resources sharing can
enhance the process of DM, there is a perceived gap in
government collaboration and coordination within the
context of natural DM [1]. Information and
communication technology (ICT) can help to prevent and
mitigate the effects of threatening situations if applied
properly [2]. Our proposition is that disaster
preparedness efforts are need to be taken with more
care so that life and property losses can be reduced [3].
The unique geo-climatic conditions have made India
highly vulnerable to natural disasters. Though complete
prevention of natural disasters is beyond human
capabilities, the adverse impact of any disaster on
human lives and their livelihoods can be minimized by
taking adequate early warning, preparedness and
mitigation measures [4]. The increase in number of
natural and man-made disasters effects can be reduced
by adapting good disaster management strategies and
the major focus will be on present practices in
communicating disasters and its risk. The use of
advanced information and communications technologies
(ICTs), like the internet for emergency websites or cell
phones or GIS appear will be better solutions for bridging
a gap between the public and disaster management.
The importance of GIS in emergency management
arises directly from the benefits of spatial decision
making, spatio-temporal simulation of disasters, risk
analysis and visualization of their effects [5]. Disaster
management system integrates with GIS web services to
find out the affected areas and possible routes to reach
the particular location. To the general public the system
provides the information of getting the medical aid and
relief materials to the deceased victim [6]. GIS are often
used to assist the disaster management, such as the
visualization of the disaster situations, for analyzing the
affected results of disasters, efficiently deploy the
accurate rescues and undertake the post-disaster
reconstructions which impossible with traditional
mapping technologies [7].
II.
Why Disaster Management
Disaster management (DM) is the discipline that involves
in preparing, warning, supporting as well as rebuilding
societies when natural or man-made disasters occur. It is
the continuous process by which all individuals, groups
and communities manage hazards in an effort to avoid or
mitigate the impact of disasters resulting from hazards.
Effective disaster management relies on thorough
integration of emergency plans at all levels of
government and non-government involvement. Activities
at each level (individual, group, community) affect the
Role of Information and Communication Technologies for Effective Disaster Management
1
Proceeding of National Conference on Recent Trends and Innovation Civil
Engineering held at BRCM CET, Bahal during 15th-16th November, 2013
other levels. In India,54% of landmass is prone to
earthquakes, 40 million hectares of landmass is prone to
floods, 8000 km of coastline is prone to cyclones and
almost 68% of total geographical area is vulnerable to
droughts. Therefore, disaster preparedness is no longer
a choice; it is mandatory irrespective of where one lives.
III.
Disaster Management
There are no standardized rules defining the different
phases of the disaster management cycle. Different
agencies use different cycles depending upon their
objectives. However, while approaches vary, it is agreed
that disaster management activities should be carried out
in a cycle. Figure 1 illustrates the phases of the disaster
management cycle, which are described as follows:
2015
operations. This phase covers implementation/operation,
early warning systems and capacity building so the
population will react appropriately when an early warning
is issued.
 Response: includes actions taken to save lives and
prevent property damage, and to preserve the
environment during emergencies or disasters. The
response phase is the implementation of action
plans.
 Recovery: includes actions that assist a community
to return to a sense of normalcy after a disaster.
a. Mitigation
This refers to any activity that reduces either the chance
of a hazard taking place or a hazard turning into disaster.
b. Risk reduction
It is an anticipatory measure and actions that seek to
avoid future risks as a result of a disaster.
Figure 1: The Disaster Management Cycle
c. Prevention
It aims at avoiding a disaster even at the eleventh hour.
d. Preparedness:
It involves plans or preparations made to save lives or
property, and help the response and rescue service
S.
N.
1
2
3
IV.
2
These six phases usually overlap. ICT is used in all the
phases, but the usage is more apparent in some phases
than in others [11]-[12].
Different ICT tools with their
disadvantages are given below:
advantage
and
Table 1: Advantages and Disadvantages of different ICT tools [12]
Channel
Advantages
Disadvantages
Radio and
Television
Community
Radio
Telephone
(fixed)
Conclusion







Most accessible to low
income households
One-to-many
Portable
Excellent for rural poor and
remote communities
One-to-many
Portable
Quick delivery
 Takes time to get the warnings
 Limited use at night
 Not widespread
 Obtaining a license can take time
in some countries
 One-to-one
 Requires expensive infrastructure
 Vulnerable to congestion and
delay
This paper has presented an overview of how ICT in the
form of Internet, GIS, Remote Sensing, Satellite
communication etc. are indispensable in planning and
Priyajit Dash and Arabinda Sharma
Proceeding of National Conference on Recent Trends and Innovation in Civil
Engineering held at BRCM CET, Bahal during 15th-16th November, 2013
successful implementation of most Disaster Risk
Reduction initiatives. This paper has also given idea
about how GIS and remote sensing can be handy tool for
disaster management. ICT can be helpful in different
phases of disaster management cycle such as early
warning, preparedness and response. The paper has
also discussed the comparative strength and weakness
of various ICT tools for disaster management. It is not an
easy task to identify which media will be useful for the
particular location depending on the type and size of
disaster. Although by theory it looks a bit easier for
disaster management than its practice, there is large gap
between theory and practice that need to be bridged
emphasizing on building human capacities to use these
tools and technologies.
V.
References
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Role of Information and Communication Technologies for Effective Disaster Management
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