Information and Communication Technologies Use in Disaster Management

The umbrella term used in the Turkish language is calamity (musibet) that covers natural and man-made disasters as well as almost all types of negativities that may happen to an individual, a group, a region, a country, or even at the global level. The TDK (Türk Dil Kurumu, Turkish Language Society) Dictionary defines calamity as “noun: sudden disaster, troublesome thing” or “adjective: as a metaphor, unlucky." There is a similar situation in the English language as the word disaster comes from the Latin word meaning “bad star,” which implies that when the positions of the stars are bad, a disaster is bound to happen. Disasters enable the opening of policy windows of opportunity to initiate or enlarge the widespread use of various technologies, a phenomenon which is coined as “calamity-based informatics (Musibet temelli bilişim).

Within this context, it is argued that information flow is the “central nervous system for all disaster relief efforts,” without which planning, decision-making, implementation, and measurement and evaluation will be almost impossible. The use of ICTs by different disaster management actors exemplifies the argument that technology is the extension of man. Different ICTs function as the extensions of the brains and hands of the disaster relief personnel among both the ranks of the top management and street-level bureaucrats.

Various ICTs are used to help different phases of disasters, such as mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. This area of research and practice is also called “crisis informatics” or “disaster informatics.” The umbrella term for the systems used for disaster management is called “Crisis Information Management Systems (CIMS).

During and after disasters, decision-making and planning processes become much more complicated and challenging due to the emergence of chaotic, uncertain environments. In this context, it is of utmost importance and priority that both political and bureaucratic decision-makers have timely access to information. The most important contribution of ICTs is to make sure that the necessary and sufficient mechanisms are created to exchange timely, complete, and accurate information. In this sense, modern ICT infrastructures and information collection, analysis and exchange mechanisms such as mobile phone networks, geographical information systems (GIS), social media platforms, as well as technologies and technological tools and analysis systems, such as internet of things (IoT), open data portals, big data analysis, drones, etc. are highly instrumental in minimizing the chaos-uncertainty and thus enabling the quick and correct decision-making mechanism for those who are responsible for disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

The 2000s witnessed the introduction of social media platforms as increasingly popular disaster management tools. Many social media platforms, including but not limited to Twitter (Currently X), Facebook, and YouTube, are used to broadcast information about disasters, detail the needs and perceptions of disaster victims, and spread dated and misleading information. The vast amount of disaster-related data from social media platforms is also used for big data analyses.

In Türkiye, the “Hayat Eve Sığar” (HES, Life Fits into Home) mobile application enabled the citizens to use online maps to determine whether there are people infected with the disease in their neighborhoods and streets and monitor what kind of treatment or monitoring these people are undergoing. Additionally, this application gives a warning in case of contact with coronavirus-positive individuals. While ICT use has provided many benefits to control the pandemic and ensure citizens’ conformity to the rules and prohibitions in many countries, therefore mitigating the disaster of the pandemic to a more controllable level, severe allegations and warnings have been issued by non-governmental organizations regarding the violation privacy of personal data through these technological applications.

A classification based on the actors and objectives of ICT use for disaster management is presented in the following sub-sections. Within this context, the main actors in disaster management include government agencies at national and local levels (including the government employees working for these organizations), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private firms, academic and research institutions (including, but not limited to universities and think tanks), international organizations and citizens. For disaster management efforts to be effective and efficient, there needs to be strong collaboration and coordination among the various actors of disaster management. This way, it is possible to ensure that the response to disasters can be timely and comprehensive.

Many non-governmental and non-profit organizations are either specifically established to contribute to disaster management efforts, or even if their main goal is different, they still contribute to the disaster management efforts by providing aid, relief, and support to the communities affected by the disaster. These NGOs can operate at local, national, and international levels. Some examples of NGOs that operate in the disaster management area are the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. Within the umbrella of NGOs, many community-based organizations, such as volunteer organizations and grassroots movements, possess a good understanding of local needs and can mobilize quickly to provide assistance. One such example from Türkiye is the provision of emergency aid and basic needs and supplies, organization of awareness campaigns and training activities, coordination with other organizations in aid distribution, psychological support of disaster victims, and contributions to post-disaster recovery and reconstruction by NGOs after the disastrous earthquakes in Türkiye on February 6, 2023.

The main objective of private sector organizations is to maximize their profits. However, this does not mean that they do not contribute to the disaster management efforts when needed. Private firms may take part in disaster management efforts by contributing resources, expertise, and financial support to disaster management efforts, either directly or through partnerships with government and non-profit organizations.

Academic and research institutions, including but not limited to universities and think tanks, also play different roles and functions in disaster management processes. Most importantly, they can contribute by conducting scientific studies of disasters, helping in the development of new techniques, methodologies, and technologies of disaster management, advising decision-makers regarding how to manage disasters, and training professionals. Academic and research institutions also cooperate with media outlets to disseminate disaster-related information, raise public awareness, and provide lay education regarding disaster management.

The types of ICTs used for disaster management follow an evolutionary process that begins with the use of the websites of responsible government agencies. In time, a second layer/generation of ICTs was added to this ecosystem. This second layer was the mobile platforms and applications employed in different stages of the disaster management processes. Yet another layer is added later on, this time in the form of disaster management content on social media platforms/applications used by government agencies, NGOs, and citizens alike. The fourth and final layer of development/evolution is the use of new and emergent technologies such as metaverse, artificial intelligence, and blockchain for disaster management purposes.

It is crucial to emphasize that these layers add on top of each other instead of the latter ICT replacing the former. In other words, these technologies are used cumulatively; all the different technology generations are being used at the same time in tandem as new ICTs become available. After a while, each consecutive wave of disaster management ICT use also becomes a new public service provision standard, expected to be used by the government and other actors of disaster management. If these actors, including but not limited to the government agencies specializing in disaster management, fail or act slowly to adopt and effectively use these ICTs, they risk being seen as either unable or unwilling to keep up with new technologies, therefore being/getting obsolete.

OpenStreetMap (OSM) and Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) are also outstanding examples of ICT use in disaster management. Volunteers use OSM as a collaborative mapping platform to create and edit data visualization tools, such as disaster area maps. HOT is a subset of OAM. It specializes in humanitarian mapping that can be used either in disaster preparedness or response after earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods. Both OSM and HOT are popularly used in developing countries, such as Burundi and Türkiye. For example, it is examined how networks of volunteers used the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap, which is a global not-for-profit organization that uses free and open-source maps, OSM for networked participation in information mapping in disaster response during the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes in Türkiye. Volunteers’ inputs were later validated by expert mappers, who checked data and developed its quality, if necessary.

The first risk of using ICTs for disaster management is the “vulnerability of the technological infrastructure.” During and after the disasters, infrastructures of many kinds, such as electrical power grids, emergency data centers, and mobile and landline communication networks, can be either partially damaged or totally destroyed, which may result in the disruption of disaster-related communication. Such disruption, in turn, can seriously have a negative effect on the availability, timely, and reliable provision of ICT-based information and services during the post-disaster period.

A serious implementation problem during ICT use in disaster management is the spread of false information and rumors. Social media platform users are especially open to the risk of propagating such misinformation that not only misdirects and slows down disaster response and recovery efforts but also causes an increase in damage to human life and property. Some rumors even lead to confusion and panic among the victims of the disaster and emergency responders. For disaster management experts, minimizing the spread of false information and rumors by verifying the accuracy and reliability of each and every bit of information they collect costs them extra time and resources that can be used elsewhere.
Another critical limitation and risk and implementation problem of using ICTs in disaster management is the almost inevitable dependence and overreliance on ICTs for fast and successful disaster management. As disaster experts do not remember a time when the current technologies were non-existent, they become dependent on or even addicted to using ICTs, without which a significant capacity loss becomes inevitable. Such overreliance on ICTs may increase the vulnerability of the disaster management processes. In the case of ICT system failures, hacking of the disaster informatics systems, or even deliberate disruptions caused by the staff, the whole disaster management process can come to a complete halt.

According to the United Nations AI Advisory Board Interim Report dated December 2023 entitled “Governing AI for Humanity,” AI can be instrumental in “Using advanced climate modelling tied to information about urban mobility and behavior patterns to create new early warning systems, allowing for more effective delivery of post-conflict/disaster relief and recovery” (UN, 2023: 3). The report also suggests that increasing resilience to natural disasters and combating climate change by using AI is possible, by “creating early warning systems for floods, wildfires, and food insecurity” as well as “monitoring endangered species (e.g., dolphins, whales) and to optimize agricultural practices.” (UN, 2023: 7).

An important opportunity is to use the Internet of Things (IoT), which employs sensor networks in disaster management. Sensors enable real-time monitoring of environmental conditions, infrastructure status, and disaster impacts. Such continuous monitoring capability enables experts to manage risk proactively, detect hazards on time and organize disaster response and recovery efforts accordingly. In a similar vein, it is possible to deploy IoT-based mobile rescue robots in disaster management processes. Some examples are tiny robots looking for and listening to potential survivors under the rubble after an earthquake or cleaning robots in a nuclear plant that are too dangerous for humans after a nuclear accident.

A final opportunity is not a technology per se but a different way to organize the actors of disaster management processes: public-private partnerships (PPPs). PPPs can be formed when the government agencies responsible for disaster management at national, regional, and local levels cooperate with other actors, namely, private firms, NGOs, and international organizations. Such partnerships have great potential for maximizing the benefits and synergies in terms of the pooling of resources, expertise, and capabilities for innovation, making disaster management efforts more scalable, sustainable, and effective.

With regard to challenges, some of the future challenges are already mentioned as current challenges in the previous sections. There are cybersecurity risks, such as cyber-attacks against critical infrastructure, data systems, and communication networks; data privacy concerns, such as concerns about privacy, consent, and ownership of disaster-related personal and organizational data; widening of the digital divide where access of disadvantaged and marginalized communities to technology is disproportionately affected, and interoperability issues regarding the compatibility among different ICT systems and platforms used by different disaster management organizations. This specific challenge is called the emergence of an “emergency management digital divide/gap.”

In addition to thecurrent and future challenges, one might add the challenge of ethical and responsible use of new and emerging technologies in disaster management processes. These emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (in this specific case, “Internet of Emergency Services,” or IoES) autonomous systems (such as drones), and biometrics raise questions and concerns about accountability, bias (such as algorithmic bias), and unintended consequences (such as emerging technologies being means of mass surveillance).