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When natural disasters and epidemics hit a country hard, it uses all available means to spread the word about them. In the worst-case scenario, people will want to know the details as to the nature of the calamity or epidemic. More importantly, they want to know how they can protect themselves from such threats. Disaster data management (DisDM) plays a crucial role in maintaining a desirable level of safety and security in the country. This is the gist of the paper on DisDM made by Felix Naumann of the University of Potsdam and Louiqa Raschid of the University of Maryland. In their paper, they pointed out the limitations of information technology (IT) solutions for managing information, as exemplified by disasters like Hurricane Katrina. They enumerate four essentialities of effective DisDM. Diversity: It’s not just one concerned agency that responds to a disaster but the entire network. In this case, there must be free exchange of information among agencies to better manage the disaster in terms of rescue and recovery operations. If many people are given the heads-up, many lives can be saved as a result of fostering disaster readiness. Heterogeneity: Information to be shared must have a variety of substance for many questions to be answered. For instance, the list of casualties in a calamity must also include other information on the victims so they can easily be identified. While the name of a friend or relative on the list of deaths isn’t a pretty sight, being oblivious to this fact will just increase unrest. Data quality: To put it simply, wrong data can jeopardize the entire disaster rescue and recovery operation. Having the right information assures the success of a fact-finding, investigative, or rescue mission. Data management services such as those from Williams Data Management help preserve the data’s quality. On-the-fly integration: Flexibility is also an essential asset in planning for disasters and reducing damage. While it is impossible to know exactly when a calamity will hit Los Angeles, a flexible platform can help people adjust to any changes. Williams Data Management sees flexible data integration as an essential tool in managing a steady stream of information despite the changes. Overall, disasters are times when information is needed the most. If you want to prepare for the worst, you can read up on Naumann and Raschid’s paper at the University of Pennsylvania’s website at UPenn.edu. For more information on data management solutions, ask data service providers like Williams Data Management.
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