No abstract

The common situational awareness among the disaster-response organizations and the appropriate action based on the information sharing are the key factor for the effective and efficient disaster response. Supported by the Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), we have developed the Shared Information Platform for Disaster Management (SIP4D) which facilitate the “cross-ministerial information sharing” by intermediating the various governmental organizations. Also, as the empirical research for utilize the shared disaster-information by SIP4D, we have developed the Medical Activity Support System for Disaster Management, the Reservoir Disaster Prevention Support System, and the Disaster Management Information Service Platform. In this paper, we introduce the overview of our R&D project, and report the implementation plans of our systems in the society.

In disaster response, wherein many organizations undertake activities simultaneously and in parallel, it is important to unify the overall recognition of the situation through information sharing. Furthermore, each organization must respond appropriately by utilizing this information. In this study, we developed the Shared Information Platform for Disaster Management (SIP4D), targeted at government offices, ministries, and agencies, to carry out information sharing by intermediating between various information systems. We also developed a prototype of the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED) Crisis Response Site (NIED-CRS), which provides the obtained information on the web. We applied these systems to support disaster response efforts in the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes and other natural disasters. We analyzed the effects of and issues experienced with the information sharing systems. As effects, we found 1) the realization of increased overall efficiency, 2) validity of sharing alternative information, and 3) possibility of using the system as a basis for information integration. As future issues, we highlight the needs for 1) advance loading of data, 2) machine readability of top-down data, and 3) identifying the common minimum required items and standardization of bottom-top data.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the essential concept by which to formulate standardized information that supports effective disaster response. From the experiences of past disasters, we have learned that disaster response organizations could not work effectively without information sharing. In the context of disaster response, the purpose of “information sharing” is to ensure common recognition of the disaster situation being confronted. During the Kumamoto earthquake, we provided a set of disaster information products to disaster response organizations to support their relief activities. Based on the real disaster response experience, we extracted issues of information sharing between various organizations. To resolve these issues, we discuss the concept of information sharing first, and then consider the quality of information that supports disaster response activities by referring to the information needs of emergency support organizations such as the Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT). We also analyze the Basic Disaster Management Plan published by the Central Disaster Management Council and extract a common disaster-information set for governmental organizations. As a result, we define the “Standard Disaster-information Set” (SDS) that covers most disaster response information needs. Based on the SDS, we formulate intermediate information products for disaster response that provide consistent information of best-effort quality, named the “Standardized Disaster-information Products” (SDIP). By utilizing the SDIP, disaster response organizations are able to consolidate the common recognition of disaster situations without consideration of data availability, update timing, reliability, and so on.