A community is more resilient when its members are informed and able to take responsibility for their safety during disasters. For people to be informed, they need access to accurate and timely information from multiple sources, including via smartphones, tablets, and websites that do not crash. During recent disasters in Queensland, Australia in 2011 and 2013, many local governments struggled to provide complete, accurate information across different platforms about issues like road closures and evacuation centers. New technologies like GIS and social media can help communities transform how information is delivered before, during, and after disasters by improving accuracy, access, and response to public demand.

1. A Resilient Community is an
Informed CommunityKerrie Purcell
Lacuna Resolve
ANZ Disaster & EM Conference 28-30 May 2013

2. A Resilient Community
People need to be prepared to take
responsibilityfor their own safety.
To do this they need accessto information to make
more informed decisions.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. How are we doing?
2011 Queensland Floods and Cyclone Yasi

6. 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

7. 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/A
4
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

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

9. 1. Accuracy and Timeliness
2. Demand
3. Access

10. Social media
includes web-based and mobile based technologies which
are used to turn communication into
interactive dialogue among organisations,
communities, and individuals

11. Social Media Statistics Australia
Source: socialmedianews.com.au/social-media-statistics-australia-june-2012/
July, 2012
June 2012

12. So why
Is this important in the context of
emergency and disaster management?
Millions
of citizens who are
eager to communicate about things that are important
to them.

13. 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.

14. Geo-tagged that is have location based information
included
Verified in some way as being accurate
What does it need to be useful?

15. US Weather Map
http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=6e0bec987ac24e68b75d989fc23925cf

16. 1. Accuracy and Timeliness
2. Demand
3. Access

17. Public demand
for information in a disaster
What can it do?
If not managed properly it can bring down your
entire network

19. 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 Computing
What is it?

20. • 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

21. 1. Accuracy and Timeliness
2. Demand
3. Access

22. 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?

23. The Latest GIS Technology
Online Systems
Applications
•Operations
•Planning
•Logistics
•Command
•Public Information
OnlineOnline
ServerServer
Field
Desktop
Web
Infrastructure
Content

24. • 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

25. Hurricane Sandy
Public Information

30. Social Media

33. Questions?
“There is no excuse in 2013 for communications
systems that fail to meet the grade”
National Times - January 8, 2013