[chapter-delegates] Fwd: [egov4dev] Use of ICT in Natural Disaster Management

Alan Levin alan at futureperfect.co.za
Fri Jan 7 08:05:18 PST 2005


Hi,

I found this to be an interesting thread on the use of ICT (which I 
know is broader but at least includes a number of Internet related 
comments) in response to Tsunami Crisis in Asia.

On behalf of all ISOC-ZA members, I extend sincere condolences to 
anyone on this list and all to all ISOC members who have lost friends 
and family in this recent disaster.

regards,

Alan
ISOC-ZA

Begin forwarded message:

> From: D McLean <david at virt-org.demon.co.uk>
> Date: 6 January 2005 01:35:23 GMT+02:00
> Subject: Re: [egov4dev] Use of IT in Natural Disaster Management
>
>
> Dear Fyi, Arif, David, Kannan, Anu,
>
> The tragedy in S.E Asia has been in everyone's minds since Sunday 26
> December here in the UK.  So far more than £76 million has been donated
> by ordinary citizens and the total is growing.
>
> We all seem to be asking what can ICTs / Information Systems (IS) and 
> IT
> do to help ?
>
> As someone who has worked in many parts of the world assisting in the
> development of societies and economies through the use of Information
> Systems and IT, it seems to me we need to stand back a little and think
> about this in a holistic way.
>
> Any disaster, whether natural or man-made, has a sequence.
>
> 1.    Can we prevent or predict it ?   -   How can IS/IT/ICT help in
> this area ?
>
> 2.    In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, what are the first
> priorities ?      How can IS/IT/ICT help ?
>
> 3.    What are the medium term objectives/needs ?   Again, how can
> IS/IT/ICTs help ?
>
> 4.    What are the long term reconstruction needs - in terms of 
> physical
> infrastructure, economy, and most importantly human lives ?
>
> Each of these phases could require different sets of information and
> technological ways of processing / delivering them.  As a first step, 
> we
> should look at each to identify information needs, data and the
> underlying technology needs.
>
> When we have undertaken that analysis, then we need to look for areas 
> of
> commonality or linkages between them.
>
> In all of these areas however, there will be many interested parties /
> stakeholders - national governments, international organisations,
> national donors, voluntary agencies, community groups and individual
> citizens.   Each one is driven by a different motive, although these
> will sometimes be shared.   But in a catastrophic disaster situation
> such as S.E Asia has experienced, there is a danger that organisational
> objectives will conflict with one another.  Therefore the problem is 
> not
> technological but rather the way in which as humans we react within
> organisations.
>
> Co-operation, co-ordination and working together as organisations is 
> not
> easy.   But individual human beings "on the ground" can work together
> quickly and effectively (c.f the joint working of Thai and foreign
> tourist in Phuket).   Language, race, religion, social class are swept
> away as individuals share basic human values.  The challenge for
> "organisations" must be to capture that spirit but sadly organisational
> behaviour prevents that (rules, regulations, culture etc).  How can we
> change this ?
>
> Each will have their own IS/IT/ICT, developed or used by them to 
> achieve
> their own objectives.  In a world driven by "costs" and with 
> governments
> increasingly under pressure to "do more with less" it is difficult to
> see how governmental organisations would be able to spend more to
> integrate systems across national boundaries.  Increasing taxes is 
> never
> a "political winner" at the ballot box !!!
>
> Perhaps the time has come for the UN to take the lead and for
> governments world-wide to line up behind the UN as an impartial body
> whose prime objective in cases such as this is to "make things happen"
> !!!  Perhaps the UN and UNDP could look at developing an "IS/IT 
> Strategy
> for International Disasters" which could set out the ground rules and
> standards to enable national and NGO systems to "inter-operate".  If
> they could achieve that, it would be "a giant leap for mankind".  That
> vision has to come from the top.
>
> This may seem a long way from a discussion on IS/IT/ICT but then we all
> need to recognise that effective use of "the tools" requires 
> intelligent
> thought about the nature of the problem and which tools are best suited
> to each aspect of the problem (c.f. earlier classification of the
> "disaster process").
>
> To everyone in the S.E Asian region affected by the disaster, our
> thoughts, prayers and desire to help are with you.
>
> David
>
> David McLean
> OICD - Organisation for Informatics Co-operation and Development
>
>
>
>
> In message <036d01c4f251$cb542a60$0201a8c0 at cgov.undp.kg>, Talant
> Abdullaev <ta at cgov.undp.kg> writes
>>
>> Fyi
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>
>> I firstly would like to convey to you, your colleagues and the people 
>> of
>> Maldives our heartfelt sympathy with you in this tragedy, as we do to 
>> all
>> the people in all the countries affected. I am writing from another 
>> small
>> island nation, and we can understand the particular problems you 
>> might be
>> facing.
>>
>> In the Solomon Islands we have much experience with HF radio systems, 
>> and
>> maybe I can speak out for the characteristics that make this 
>> technology
>> quite robust against some level of natural hazard.
>>
>> In January 2003, one of our islands Tikopia was affected by a terrific
>> cyclone, Zoe, that struck it at full force. Rescue teams didn't get 
>> there
>> until a week, and the world's media swarmed here - but quickly (and 
>> luckily)
>> it emerged that there were no injuries or deaths, only utter 
>> destruction of
>> all the infrastructure. Local knowledge from hundreds of years and 
>> natural
>> shelter of caves had saved the people. Anyway, there was much debate 
>> about
>> the lack of information coming out from the island due to no 
>> communications,
>> and we in our project quickly resolved to work with Tikopians to 
>> place one
>> of our community-managed rural "email stations" on the island.
>>
>> For more about PFnet and the email network,
>> www.peoplefirst.net.sb/general/pfnet.htm
>>
>> I don't want to digress too much, but the network is providing 
>> affordable
>> global communication sustainably for 18 remote island communities. As 
>> far as
>> disaster preparedness and assessment goes, the stations are able to 
>> download
>> daily weather maps, cyclone warnings (i.e. the JTWC) and other 
>> information
>> directly using web for mail servers, and search the net using browser 
>> based
>> search tools such as TEK (tek.sourceforge.org). PFnet's Manager, 
>> Randall
>> Biliki, has 9 years experience as a director of the national disaster
>> management council, and he has used this experience to understand the
>> potential of the email stations in assessment following natural 
>> disasters.
>> We therefore install database systems where assessment data can be 
>> quickly
>> and consistently entered and transmitted to Honiara, and imported
>> automatically into a central database. The form used in the user 
>> interface
>> was designed following the 1997 droughts (from the severe El Nino) but
>> modified to suit all types of disaster events. Of coure, a training 
>> program
>> for village based disaster asseeement and coordination is needed with 
>> the
>> distaster management office, etc.
>>
>> On resistance to disasters, HF technology is very robust. Consider 
>> this:
>>  a.. Point to point over 100s and 1000s of km (not dependant on a 
>> local
>> base station)
>>  b.. Free to air
>>  c.. Very low bandwidth costs (actually this a because it is narrow
>> bandwidth technology)
>>  d.. Antennas do not need to be precisely positioned, we often just 
>> lay
>> them out on the ground to test when setting up a remote site, they 
>> can be
>> hoisted up (or down) mounts very quickly without risk of damage - can 
>> be
>> taken down during a cyclone easily, etc
>>  e.. In the Solomons HF radios are well understood and commonly used 
>> for
>> decades for voice communications. Thee is a good pool of 
>> troubleshooting
>> capacity on the remote islands, I would guess that it is similar in 
>> the
>> Maldives
>>  f.. With simple modems and software you have all the added benefits 
>> of
>> data transmission, email and limited Internet access, at very low 
>> cost, but
>> the voice function remains as a back up.
>>  g.. Easy to operate, even the email stations. Typically we train up 
>> a Form
>> 3-5 school leaver, often a young woman, in the village as the 
>> operator. All
>> they need is some keyboard skills (typing etc) and n 10 days they are
>> autonomous.
>> Of course, the communications need to be deployed together with other
>> strategies for risk reduction and to harden them against natural 
>> hazards. No
>> system could withstand being washed away by these tsunami waves or 
>> surges
>> from cyclones, etc. But they can be positioned to reduce 
>> vulnerability and
>> training can be given to protect them as best as can be through the 
>> cyclone
>> or other event. The power source is a critical factor. We use solar 
>> power,
>> using carefully chosen sealed battery types that can be cycled over 
>> many
>> years. Even if the solar panels were damaged, there would be 
>> sufficient
>> autonomy in the battery for daily communications, if managed 
>> carefully, for
>> days or even a couple of weeks or more (dependant on the time spend
>> transmitting per day and battery capacity). HF radios are very 
>> reliable and
>> extremely long lasting.
>>
>> The educational potential of ICT is also useful in long term 
>> strategies for
>> reducing vulnerability. For instance, many people or most people 
>> affected by
>> the recent disaster had little awareness of this type of natural 
>> event. In
>> Sri Lanka, I heard on the BBC, many people went down to the sea to 
>> collect
>> stranded fish when the sae retreated the first time, unaware of the
>> impending danger. ICt can be used, especially with community 
>> telecentres in
>> rural areas, to reach such vulnerable people and deliver awareness 
>> programs.
>> The HF email, in the basic PFnet model, is very sustainable - a key 
>> factor
>> after all the media attention dies down and it has to stand on it's 
>> two
>> feet - and used creatively the low bandwidth can be worked around. In 
>> the
>> Solomons, we are now building on this with a VSAT network for distance
>> education. VSAT systems have obviously far more utility if they can be
>> established sustainably for community access, and are pretty robust 
>> too. But
>> affordability depends on scale, and in the Pacific so much is against 
>> us in
>> this respect.
>>
>> I hope this gives some food for thought. I am happy to share our 
>> experience
>> here.
>>
>> I do wish your efforts in reconstruction the very best success our 
>> thoughts
>> are with you.
>>
>>
>> David Leeming
>> Technical Advisor, PFnet
>> Project Manager, Distance Learning Centres Project
>> www.peoplefirst.net.sb
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Arif Majid Mohmand - ICT Specialist - UNDP Maldives
>> [mailto:arif.mohmand at undp.org]
>> Sent: Monday, 3 January 2005 1:50 a.m.
>> To: ICTD Cross-Practice Network
>> Subject: [surf-it] Query: [URGENT] Disaster resistant ICT 
>> systems/Maldives
>>
>> Dear Colleagues,
>>
>> As most of you must be aware by now, the low lying areas of a number 
>> of
>> countries have been affected by the earthquake and ensuig tsunami 
>> natural
>> disasters. The islands of the Maldives have been particularly 
>> devastated in
>> terms of infrastructure. This includes the loss of most existing 
>> forms of
>> information and communication linkages.
>>
>> The UNDP is looking at ways of re-establishing communication networks
>> between outlying islands in an expeditious manner, but also in the 
>> long term
>> to establish less vulnerable systems through which information can be 
>> shared
>> throughout the inhabited islands which make up the Maldives.
>>
>> I would very much appreciate if you would share your experiences and
>> information on such systems and the possiblities/problems encountered 
>> or
>> envisaged in establishment of such systems.
>>
>> Thank you.
>>
>> Regards.
>>
>> Arif
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "kannan srinivasan" <ksriniv at yahoo.com>
>> To: <egov4dev at yahoogroups.com>
>> Sent: Friday, December 31, 2004 4:42 AM
>> Subject: [egov4dev] Use of IT in Natural Disaster Management
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dear all,
>>> I am a member of a state level initiative on
>>> Telehealth in a Southern state of India. Now, the
>>> Tsunami has devastated the major part of the
>>> peninsula. The question arises now that how much of IT
>>> or any technology can help in managing such things.
>>>
>>> My experience in working with Disaster Warning
>>> Dissemination System set up by a Govt body in the west
>>> and east coasts are not effective. They work on the
>>> basis of data sent by Sattelites. Now, the question
>>> arises, if the technology cannot help during the time
>>> of need, what would be the role of them.
>>>
>>> There are number of articles challenging the
>>> scientists. There are also a huge media coverage on
>>> the role of the modern technology in disaster and
>>> depicted as a failure of such systems.
>>>
>>> I really would like to know what are the potential
>>> areas through which we can really help the needy.
>>>
>>> For an example, the Andamans has a TeleMedicine
>>> facilty with the support of Apollo Hospitals Chennai,
>>> I never see a news stating this is used during the
>>> event of such calamity.
>>>
>>> K.Srinivasan
>>> Faculty and Project Coordinator Telehealth
>>> Indian Institute of Information Technology and
>>> Management, Kerala
>>> Technopark
>>> Trivandrum
>>> Kerala
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> __________________________________
>>> Do you Yahoo!?
>>> Send holiday email and support a worthy cause. Do good.
>>> http://celebrity.mail.yahoo.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> -- 
> D McLean
>
>
>
>
>
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---------------------------------------------
Alan Levin
Tel: +27 21 409-7997


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