Members:

Liu Chuang, China
Bob Chen, U.S.A.
Jean Bonnin, France
Shuichi Iwata, Japan
Horst Kremers, Germany

There is a strong deficit in disaster data availability for traceback and knowledge mining especially during the phases of improving disaster preparedness. This comprises the fields of natural and technical disasters. There is high interest to compile a recommendation on best practice of collecting, archiving and providing open access to disaster information.

This Workgroup will prepare a strategic report highlighting the necessity of data availability of disasters of various types. Disaster information on different levels lack standardization of structure and description and htus, interoperability for cross-discipline analysis is not guaranteed. The complex and often large datasets of actors and institutions involved in documenting information on severe disaster events give rise to new type of investigation principles especially when considering the complete information process for decisionmaking and action.

Risk information accompanies the information management in all detailed aspects, because typically, the various factors influencing the risk measures are dynamic and even may change drastically within short time of the disaster management decision and action.

Effectiveness of information system supported disaster management has to be defined by the measure to which individual, group and institutional actors involved are enabled for improved (that is: more reliable, more timely, more effective etc.) goal reaching in disaster management.

Aim / Deliverables:

Preparing a strategic report highlighting the necessity of data availability of disasters of different types.

Addresses disaster organisations (UN bodies, NGOs), government, industry, insurances, etc. on local, regional, national, and international level.

The report will address

• Demand
• Current state of the art
• Deficits
• Benefits
• Action plan / recommendations
• Identify initiatives
• Executive summary

Working plan: draw on experience of WG members discuss draft report with disaster actors (Workshop)

Activities

• WG chair Horst Kremers presents overview on disaster information demands at UN ISDR 3rd Global Platform, Geneva, May 2011:
    "Data Science for Information Society - The Benefits from Documentation, Archiving and Open Access of Disaster Information"

Contact:

Jean Bonnin, bonnin@selene.u-strasbg.fr
Horst Kremers, office@horst-kremers.de