Signal 5: Big data and disaster management: in different stages
While e-commerce has utilized big data to analyze their customer preferences and gain more profit for a long time, crisis response groups are starting to use this powerful tool to improve their work as people in more and more fields start to realize how powerful the big data is.
When a natural disaster strikes, knowing what people need and providing them in chaos are the key factors to save lives and property. There are many successful attempts. For instance, Crowdsource Rescue Team, a Houston-based civic tech group, created a Harvey Needs website during Hurricane Harvey, and this platform enabled the residents to receive evacuation assistance during and after the hurricane.
Nowadays, people are trying to do more than simply gathering data and fulfilling needs. Although it is almost impossible to prevent the natural disaster such as earthquake and hurricanes, leveraging big data to predict the secondary disaster could largely reduce the lost. For example, before the Hurricane Harvey hit the land, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used the sensor big data to predict where the hurricane is likely to land and identify the possible landslide, staging locations, and evacuation routes. With these predictions, people who live in the high-risk areas could have more time to pack and evacuate, and the government could be better prepared for the possible secondary disaster.
