Abstract: During major disaster events, human operators in a crisis center will be overloaded with under-stress a flood of phone calls. As an increasing number of people in and around big cities do not master the native language, the need for automated systems that automatically process the context and content of information about disaster situations from the communicated messages becomes apparent. To support language-independent communication and to reduce the ambiguity and multitude semantics, we developed an icon-based reporting observation system. Contrast to previous approaches of such a system, we link icon messages to disaster events without using Natural Language Processing. We developed a dedicated set of icons related to the context and characteristic features of disaster events. The developed system is able to compute the probability of the appearance of possible disaster events using Bayesian reasoning. In this paper, we present the reporting system, the developed icons, the Bayesian model, and the results of two experiments.

Abstract: Recent flooding events happening in our city demonstrate frequency and severity of floods in the UK, highlighting the need to plan and prepare, and efficiently defend. Different from the numerous evacuation model and optimization algorithms, this paper aims to address flood evacuation planning with flood inundation as inputs. A dynamic flooding model and prediction to estimate the development of both surface water and flooding from rivers and watercourses has been fed into evacuation planning at various levels. A three-step approach is proposed. The first step is to identify assembly point designation. The second step is to find the candidate shortest path from each assembly point to all safe areas for all evacuees with consideration of possible inundation. The last step is to determine the optimal safe area for evacuees in the inundation area. The work presented in this paper has emphasized timing issue in evacuation planning. A case study is given to illustrate the use of the approach.

Abstract: When a disaster occurs, the delivery of alerts to the population is a key element to prevent the loss of life and property and to increase the efficiency of precautionary measures. Advanced information and communication technologies enable new channels to reach people (e.g. mobile phones, Internet connected devices, smart TVs). Satellite systems represent an unique and efficient solution for delivering one-to-many messages, but in order to reach the maximum number of people in the target area with a reliable information service, a specific technical solution is needed. This paper gives an overview of an on-going ETSI standardization activity devoted to the definition of a Multiple Alert Message Encapsulation protocol over Satellite (MAMES) for the delivery of alerts to the population in the case of a disaster. Moreover, an experimental activity (the SatAlert experiment) for testing and validating the MAMES applicability to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites is presented.

Abstract: This paper applies a Game-based Learning Evaluation Model (GEM) to assess whether the early warning ? early action serious game ?Ready!? is an effective component to add to existing Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) training curricula, facilitated by NGO staff and applied at the community level. We developed a paper-based survey with 17 five-level Likert items and 15 open questions addressing the different GEM indicators to question 16 NGO staff, and used a simplified set of five questions with emoticons for 58 community people. The results showed that the staff saw great potential in embedding Ready! in DRR processes and that the community highly appreciated the game. The GEM was found to be a useful methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of this serious game. However, in the context of a lower educated and partly illiterate community, the importance of designing an individual, largely visual assessment instrument instead of a paper-based survey was acknowledged.

Abstract: The preparation of high quality emergency plans to guide operational decisions is an approach to mitigate the emergency management complexity. In such multidisciplinary scenario, teams with different perspectives need to collaborate towards a common goal and interact within a common understanding. In this scenario, the characterization of the variability of the elements involved in these plans is an important issue, which is addressed by the emergency plans generation methodology Document Product Line for Emergency Plans (DPL(EP)). To increase common understanding of plans, we propose an adaptation of this methodology by applying a well-founded emergency ontology, termed OntoEmergePlan, which supports the domain engineering phase. It is grounded in a foundational ontology, which ensures a higher consistency degree to the process of plans generation.

Abstract: For recent years, disaster response management is considered as a promising field for applying methods and tools from business process management. Especially the development of adaptive workflow management systems (WfMS) brought a process-oriented management of highly dynamic disaster response processes (DRP) within tangible reach. However, time criticality, unpredictability or complex and changing disaster reality make it impossible to analyze and adapt ongoing DRP within reasonable time manually. Hence, to foster the application of disaster response WfMS in practice, it becomes mandatory to develop methods supporting an (semi-)automated analyses and adaption of ongoing DRP. Addressing this research gap, we present a novel method called DRP-ADAPT which analyzes given DRP models with respect to place-related conflicts and resolves inoperable response activities (semi-)automatically by process adaptation.

Abstract: In case of indoor fire hazards, firefighters face difficulties at assessing the fire situation and evacuating trapped victim inside the building, especially when the fire is big, and the building is unknown to them. On the other hand, modern sensor technologies in smartphone are becoming more advanced, widespread, and can be exploited for helping the firefighting operation. This paper proposes using smartphones as a distributed sensing and computing platform, for supporting firefighters to conduct their mission. The developed solution is based on collecting sensor data from smartphones. A Bayesian network then uses this data to generate a picture of the fire and predict its development. The additional indoor positioning feature make this proposed solution a promising tool to make the firefighter intervention more efficient and fast in order to save more lives.

Abstract: Controlled experiments on crisis management could provide many insights into the human factors that lead to effective performance in the area. However, the challenge of establishing a controlled environment directly relevant to the chaotic settings in which crisis management occurs means that such experiments are scarce. Here, we describe our attempt to use a videogame (ARMA III) as a realistic but controllable environment for research in this domain. We successfully developed a testbed linking the game world to the front-end of a prototype command-and-control system, so that one can use the latter to monitor events in the former. However, when it came to developing controlled scenarios for the experiment, we discovered that too much realism can be a problem. This paper outlines the challenges we encountered and provides recommendations for researchers and game designers interested in the use of serious games in scientific research.

Abstract: This is the first paper to apply Cross Impact Analysis (CIA) and Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM) methods for analyzing complex cascading effects in Operational Risk Management in an industrial environment. Its main objective is to improve the understanding of the overall picture of an organization?s risks. The paper summarizes the development of a CIA-ISM method of the interaction of 18 critical events of an industrial plant as a first step to improving organizational resilience based on the company?s own estimations as well as the estimates of a panel. The main benefit of using these methods is to know the relationships between different risks and consequences, direct links, indirect and cascading effects. Having the possibility of knowing a full risk map and being able to make a forecast will help to mitigate the unexpected effects and have a better response after an emergency situations is the same as being more resilient.

Abstract: Crisis management training software is gaining researchers? as well as practitioners? interest. In order to truly support organizations it is important that such software responds to actual user needs. The aim of this study is to compare existing initiative described in research with the needs of the users and to identify possible research directions for forthcoming studies. The literature review shows that discussions on users? needs are superficial at best. The software described in research mainly focus on co-located execution of exercises, often in the form of simulations. Furthermore, a ?right or wrong? behavior is usually built-in. Empirical data from a web survey indicate that flexibility in time and space during training is a fundamental user need. This is not particularly acknowledged in earlier research. Neither is the users? wish for better support in designing exercises. We propose that system flexibility, modularity and pedagogy for computer based crisis training are urgent issues for future research.

Abstract: The role of Emergency Management is to respond effectively to a major emergency that cannot be handled by the day to day independent services such as fire fighters, police, and medical response facilities. However, normal evolutionary processes typically make the ability to respond to disasters more difficult. This leads to long term decision and policy conflicts and incompatibilities about desirable goals, with implications for practitioners and system designers.

Abstract: A hyperbolic portrayal of Ebola in the US resulted in a crisis of misinformation, when an actual outbreak never occurred. We study how online mass media uses discourse in the constitution of a culture of fear, and how non-expert actors (e.g. media) employ a specific line of discussion to legitimize actions outside of science. Strange nationalism is afantastical construction of foreign, invasive crises. This discourse was used in online media to create an imagined Ebola outbreak, which legitimized inappropriate disease management policies, since outbreak was positioned as fact. Information featured on mass media provides input to crisis and emergency management information systems, such as the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS). In this respect, online media play a key role in informing the public about crisis through the construction of real or imagined emergencies. How crisis is framed affects both public understanding and response by authorities.

Abstract: Disaster response operations exceed the capacities of each single organization
Disaster response operations exceed the capacities of each single organization and thus require cooperation by at least two, often up to some hundred agencies who do seldom interact in their daily operations. The result is a complex problem of cognition, coordination, command and control. This paper presents a review of empirical studies on multi-agency coordination in disaster response operations in order to initiate and facilitate cross-case learning. The review covers 72 empirical studies and highlights the importance of themes such as plans and plan enactment, leadership or personal acquaintance of actors in emergent multi-agency response networks. The analysis also shows that while some themes received extensive coverage in scholarly publications (e.g. training, skills), various important topics have not been studied in sufficient depth (e.g. development of common operational pictures, plan enactment). Based on these insights, the review develops a research agenda and derives various recommendations for practical disaster response management.