Risk Wise

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to decisionmakers and at-risk populations. Since the 2004 Indian Ocean

tsunami, considerable efforts have been directed toward establishing

disaster early warning systems at regional, national and local levels.

Challenges in this approach involve lack of infrastructure and/or inter-

operability in systems reaching the last mile. However, advances in

technologies are promising to overcome many of these challenges.

Second, we can best understand risks by using the latest science

and technologies. Statistical and historical disaster data, used in

conjunction with indicators estimating a society’s ability to respond

to and/or recover from disasters, are improving disaster management

capabilities. These studies indicate which communities are most at-

risk and exactly how. The results can support better planning,

mitigation and policy decisions. Urban planners may use this knowl-

edge to limit development in an area. Similarly, a study indicating

increased risk due to a concentration of population with special

needs can lead officials to consider special evacuation measures.

Lastly, technologies can help to better visualize and communicate risk,

and to readily and widely share disaster risk reduction information.

Advances in communication technologies make it increasingly easy to

build disaster-resiliency. Similarly, various modelling and visualization

techniques can be used to convey, in simple forms, otherwise complex

risk information, raising awareness and building knowledge about risks.

PDC’s approach

Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) and its partner organizations –

national governments, military commands, transnational collabora-

tors, etc. – deliver proven best practices and subject matter expertise

to save lives and foster disaster-resilient communities.

PDC provides expertise, tools, technologies and innovative solu-

tions in the areas of disaster preparation, mitigation, response and

recovery for emergency managers and decision makers. As an applied

science, information and technology centre, working to reduce disas-

ter risks and impacts to people’s lives and property, and to local,

national and regional economies, PDC links scientists with at-risk

communities.

PDC’s evolving approach to emergency management

shifts the emphasis from reactive, focusing on response

and recovery operations, to proactive, with the focus on

mitigation and preparedness. The vast streams of data now

available from sensors and satellites, observers and respon-

ders are overwhelming. What is needed is clear situational

awareness that can be shared in real time or near-real time

– information products that are instantly understandable

and, when possible, fully visualized. By analysing, aggre-

gating and integrating information resources, then using

concise models rather than charts, and map viewers rather

than spreadsheets, understandable and immediately

actionable information is provided. Where an avalanche of

incomprehensible data inspires fear and confusion, a well-

designed and sharable data presentation structure becomes

an integrated decision support system, ultimately saving

lives and making communities more resilient.

The overall strategy of PDC is to promote disaster

management as an integral part of national-to-local

economic and social development.

Fostering disaster-resilient communities

A wide and growing array of data streams is available to

disaster managers, including seabed sensors and ocean

surface buoys, satellites, wave and water level gauges,

seismometers and other land-based devices. What

matters is the ability to acquire the right data and to

produce reliable, timely and sharable information on

which to base decisions and actions. To accomplish this,

broad collaborations and mutual support are essential.

Some of the methods employed by PDC are listed below.

Decision support

– PDC worked with the National

Disaster Warning Center (NDWC), Thailand from

December 2005 through February 2007, providing tech-

nical assistance in order to enhance NDWC’s disaster

management capabilities, systems and practices. The

focus of the project was on the dissemination of early

warnings, especially warnings associated with tsunamis.

PDC, with its partners – Lockheed Martin Information

Technology, Sun Microsystems, and the Environmental

Systems Research Institute (ESRI) – provided NDWC

with technical solutions, systems integration and human

resources training to achieve its strategic objective of

establishing a scalable and world-class disaster manage-

ment and emergency communications facility.

The PDC-NDWC collaboration began with an infor-

mation and communications technology (ICT) gap

analysis, and development of a concept of operations in

relation to the decision support system. Other steps

included a hazard-related data inventory, a proposed

system architecture including cost estimates, a business

continuity plan and train-the-trainer sessions to estab-

lish and ensure sustainable capacity. The primary product

of the NDWC project was PDC’s integrated decision

support system (IDSS), Disaster All-hazards Warning,

Analysis and Risk Evaluation (DisasterAWARE).

PDC’s first IDSS was deployed for US Southcom in the

Caribbean. The customized Thai version was an evolu-

tionary leap, capable of reconfiguration and expansion

Asia Pacific Natural Hazards and Vulnerabilities Atlas

Pacific Disaster Center’s Asia Pacific Natural Hazards and Vulnerabilities Atlas is

a web-accessible tool that evolves as data resources and disaster management

toolsets are developed