Collaboration & Emergency Management

When a disaster occurs, emergency managers - those in charge of facilitating disaster response efforts - must quickly gather information and efficiently deploy assets to safeguard citizens. As advancements in technology continue to improve the capability of human beings to collect, analyze, and utilize large swaths of data, collaboration within and around the emergency management field is becoming more prevalent. Citizens and technologists now have the capacity to assist first responders and other emergency management officials during a crisis, and, as a result, disaster response is no longer a siloed effort. By creating new pathways and platforms for collaboration, big data, social media, and civic tech are providing emergency management officials with new elements of information, strengthening disaster response efforts overall.

Big Data

Big data refers to robust sets of data, gathered by networked devices, that can be analyzed in order to make decisions. During the past hurricane season, emergency managers were able to utilize information platforms curated at the city and county level that highlighted hazardous zones. When Hurricane Irma made its way to Miami, Fla., the city was able to deploy staff into the field and collect accurate flooding information which was later compiled into a publicly available online map. After Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, residents were able to identify areas affected by rising flood levels by using an online flood warning system backed by big and open data from real-time water level measuring devices. While tools such as these are critical for emergency managers to create a comprehensive operating picture, they are only viable through open data - data that is accessible to the public and can be freely used by anyone. As emergency management practitioners increasingly incorporate big data into their disaster response efforts, serious conversations at state and national levels regarding access to data must take place.

Social Media

More than just a tool to admire photographs and stay connected to distant friends and relatives, social media also provides emergency managers with vital information during a crisis. Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, have the ability to act as a two-way channel of communication by quickly disseminating information to citizens while also providing emergency responders with situational awareness. During Hurricane Sandy, social media was used by emergency management officials to relay critical updates to the public via social media outlets. More recently, victims of Hurricane Harvey in need of evacuation assistance were able to use social media to relay their location and emergency status and request help. While flawed in many ways, particularly surrounding the easy spread of misinformation, social media’s use as a critical tool for communication during disasters cannot be ignored.

Civic Tech

During Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, civic tech communities - technologists with the capability to enhance public involvement - played an integral role in gathering data and building platforms that emergency managers could incorporate into their response efforts. Sketch City, a community of civic tech developers, led the charge in crowdsourcing vital information for emergency responders during Hurricane Harvey. In one instance, Sketch City created a Google map containing the location of stranded victims of the hurricane by crowdsourcing information from citizens. When Hurricane Irma approached Florida, technologists in the region acted to fast to build upon the success of the civic tech community in Texas, swiftly propping up an Irma response website that updated citizens on the locations and services of shelters. Civic Tech communities have the capacity and skill-set necessary to collect relevant data from citizens and build platforms that relay critical information to both the general public and emergency responders. It is for this reason that they will continue to act as valuable partners for emergency management practitioners, equipping first responders with tools to identify where assets can be of most use.

The three avenues of collaboration highlighted above will continue to play a vital role in emergency response. As emergency management practitioners become more comfortable with these new and promising techniques, disaster response efforts are set to become more efficient and effective. While the integration of big data, social media, and civic tech communities in emergency management faces obstacles such as access to data and misinformation, with strategic and careful utilization of these technologies, communities can be well prepared to handle disasters. Collaboration between technologists, civilians, and emergency management practitioners will lead to a more unified effort in mitigating the damage caused by catastrophic events, and, in turn, create safer and more resilient communities for all.