A Resilient Community is an Informed Community

Kerrie PurcellLacuna ResolveANZ Disaster & EM Conference 28-30 May 2013

A Resilient Community

People need to be prepared to take

responsibility for their own safety.

To do this they need access to information to make

more informed decisions.

How do people seek information in a disaster?

Source: B. Ryan, USQ, 2012, “Information seeking in a disaster” http://www.worldprforum.com/files/pdf/speaker_presentations/sunday_216/1330_Barbara%20Ryan.pdf.

The public expects there will be multiple ways to

access current and accurate information

They will not need to search for multiple pieces of

information from different sources

Information is accessible and viewable on

smartphones and tablets.

Websites will not crash during a disaster event.

How are we doing?2011 Queensland Floods and Cyclone Yasi

How are we doing in 2013?

• 2,000+ resident evacuated in Bundaberg region

• 4,000+ properties damaged, 2,000 + deemed uninhabitable

• 390,000+ homes and businesses impacted by power interruptions

• Widespread isolation of communities

• More than 5,800 kms (17.5%) State controlled roads closed

• 2,800 kms (39%) State rail network damaged or closed

• 339 State and non State schools ‐closed during the event

Queensland - Tropical Cyclone Oswald (January 2013)

Source: Queensland Reconstruction Authority Monthly Report February 2013, http://www.qldreconstruction.org.au/u/lib/cms2/ceo-Section-Three-Monthly-Report-February-2013-5.pdf

How are we doing?Local Government in south east Queensland, 2013

Local Government

Road Closures

Expected Inundation Areas

Sandbag Locations

Evacuation Centre Locations

1

2

3 N/A N/A4

5

6

7

8

9

No Information Incomplete, inaccurate, difficult to access Incomplete, inaccurate, but easy to access Complete, accurate, easy to access but not combined with other Information

So how can GIS technology transform the way your agency provides information to the public during a disaster?

1. Accuracy and Timeliness

2. Demand

3. Access

Social media includes web-based and mobile based technologies which are used to turn communication into

interactive dialogue among organisations, communities, and individuals

Social Media Statistics Australia

Source: socialmedianews.com.au/social-media-statistics-australia-june-2012/

July, 2012

June 2012

So whyIs this important in the context of

emergency and disaster management?

Millionsof citizens who are

eager to communicate about things that are important to them.

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is a

growing, fast-paced and

effective way for

organisations to gather

the best ideas from

online communities and

use them in ways that

benefit both the

organisation and

contributor.

Geo-tagged that is have location based information included

Verified in some way as being accurate

What does it need to be useful?

US Weather Map

http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=6e0bec987ac24e68b75d989fc23925cf

1. Accuracy and Timeliness

2. Demand

3. Access

Public demandfor information in a disaster

What can it do?If not managed properly it can bring down your entire network

Ranges from:•Software-as-a-service – organisations use a providers cloud-based applications such as email.•Infrastructure-as-a-service -organisations outsource their entire operations on a pay-per-usage basis•Platform-as-a-service - allows organisations to create their own software solutions using a provider’s programming and other tools.

And everything in between.

Cloud ComputingWhat is it?

• Cloudburst Capacity - Can scale up or scale down to manage peak processing volumes without investing in costly infrastructure.

• Public or Private? – separate your public sites from your business critical applications

• Cost - proportional to the amount of traffic• Operating expenditure model – not paying for

costly capital investment in IT infrastructure that is only fully used in peak periods

What are the advantages?Capacity on demand

1. Accuracy and Timeliness

2. Demand

3. Access

So how do we bring this all together to improve

community resilience?

How do we ensure the public will have easy

access to accurate and timely information

during a disaster?

The Latest GIS TechnologyOnline Systems

Applications

•Operations

•Planning

•Logistics

•Command

•Public Information

OnlineOnline

ServerServerField

Desktop

Web

Infrastructure

Content

• Dashboard / Situational Awareness

• Mobile Data Collection / Field Support

• Briefings

• Planning

• Crowdsourcing

• Social Media Integration

• Paper Map Production

• Public Information

So what does it offer?Templates – Off the Shelf Applications

Hurricane Sandy Public Information

Social Media

Questions?

“There is no excuse in 2013 for communications systems that fail to meet the grade”

National Times - January 8, 2013