How Technology Is Changing Disasters

Technological disasters such as the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, chemical spills, and radiation leaks are stressful. Examples of technological disasters In addition to the oil spill and the radiation leak, examples of technological disasters include cases such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan and previous accidents such as Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Fires and explosions, such as a fire at a nightclub in Warwick, Rhode Island caused by a pyrotechnics failure, are also examples of technological disasters.

Publications report on the impact of technological disasters and provide guidelines for families to deal with the stress associated with these events. Technological disasters are events caused by malfunctions in technological structures, human error or controls that are poorly handled by technology.

Scientists call these events natech, or natural technological disasters. The term, coined in 1994, originally referred to industrial incidents such as naturally occurring chemical and fuel pollution as well as hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural hazards. Natech's definition of resilience scientist David Yu from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana has since expanded.

Since 1980, the US has experienced more than 200 weather and climate disasters, with total costs exceeding $11 trillion. The use of current technologies can help us deal with some of these disasters.

More recently, technology has been used to speed up disaster relief. For example, drones and robots have been used to locate survivors and communicate information to emergency teams.

This technology allows mobile phones to communicate with each other even if there is no network coverage. Dr Paul Gardner Stephens, a researcher, developed the technology that allows smartphones to communicate directly with each other without a network connection.

Led by the Prudence Foundation, Prudential Asia-Africa's community investment arm, the Safe Step Tech Awards are an initiative aimed at addressing the latter problem by finding resources and support for technological solutions that can save lives in natural disasters. With a $200,000 prize pool for implementing and scaling their technology, as well as access to experts, mentors, investors and other tech entrepreneurs, the awards provide an unprecedented launch pad for disaster-proof technology innovators to take their ideas to the next level. The first prizes of the year last year culminated in a live pitch event in June 2019 in Singapore, with Fieldsight, a Nepal-based mobile platform that helps rebuild disasters in remote areas, on top.

One of the most consequential and effective applications of converging technologies is its transformation of disaster-relief methods. Analyzing the possibilities offered by aerospace technologies, it becomes clear that increasing development funding will be a boon for effective disaster response and recovery. As hardware advances, autonomous drone technology combined with real-time mapping algorithms is putting an end to abundant opportunities for aid deliveries and disaster monitoring, a layer of Intel that was previously inconceivable for humanitarian aid.

Given the potential of these aerospace technologies and the effects of a half-hearted disaster response, a reduction in funding for these technologies could prove contrary to the objectives of the legislator. This project was launched to highlight the importance of aerospace in disaster situations, but also to highlight the difficult path to further development.

Instead, policymakers should focus on the long-term cost savings of disaster management programs and how their inputs can be analyzed and demonstrated in order to reduce the extent of damage with appropriate foresight, increase recovery times with advanced disaster response technologies, and reduce life loss and economic suffering.

Humanitarian organisations should pay more attention to the development potential of these technologies and understand their impact on changing needs of the affected populations. Better problem analysis is also needed before the introduction of new technologies. I think that drones can be a useful part of the disaster assessment toolkit as they can be used as a complement to existing assessments tools.

One Concern is not the only company that sees opportunities to use data to rethink disaster response planning. Das Mapping company Esri has developed a quick response software that shows the anticipated damage from catastrophes such as earthquakes, wildfires and hurricanes. The US government has also invested in programs to use this data to shape the response of agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to disaster responses.

When a disaster occurs, federal, state and local governments need a coordinated strategy, access to accessible data, and skilled labor to steer the response. During a disaster, real-time sensor data can help authorities send up-to-date information to response teams and citizens when the situation changes. This data, together with demographic data, can serve as a basis for plans on when citizens need what kind of assistance and where and how they can be used in the event of disasters.

Rapid technological advances in a number of areas mean that emergency teams and survivors are better equipped to meet the immediate challenges of natural disasters. Social media, drones, satellite imagery, GIS, real-time disaster models and widespread connectivity mean that efficient and necessary information can flow faster than ever. In a seemingly constant chain of natural disasters, the dissemination and information of information is crucial.

In the last 10 years, technology has redefined global emergency management and disaster communication. It was not so long ago that disaster management professionals handled crises via landline telephones and press conferences.

Humanitarian emergencies occur with increasing frequency, intensity, duration, cost and complexity. Since 2004, the global funding needs for humanitarian appeals have increased by 430% and the number of people affected has doubled. The humanitarian community is struggling to halt further conflict in Syria, South Sudan and Central African Republic as well as catastrophic natural disasters such as typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

The international community spends about $25 billion (20 billion euros) a year to provide life-saving aid to people affected by war and natural disasters. According to the United Nations, however, this is still 15 billion dollars (12 billion euros) less than is needed.

The earthquake was the start of a company that plans to launch similar programs for floods and other natural disasters. Launched in 2013, the micromapper has been used in Nepal's 2015 earthquake, Typhoon Hayian in 2013 and several other disasters. Two years later, the company employs two dozen people, including the most sophisticated emergency managers, and counts the earthquake-prone cities San Francisco and Los Angeles among its customers.

Google Peoples Finder is an innovative technology that supports disaster relief. The application allows users to post posts and search for the status of the people affected by disasters. During the Nepal earthquake in 2015, 7,500 records from the Google People Finder were searched