IAEM Bulletin Article about GDIN GLOBAL DISASTER INFORMATION NETWORK Russell C. Coile, CEM Director, Disaster Services, American Red Cross Carmel Area Chapter P.O.Box AR, Carmel, CA 93921 e-mail: russell@coile.com Introduction Natural disasters seem to be occurring more frequently and with increasing damage all over the world. Accurate and timely information is necessary for disaster response, preparedness, recovery and mitigation. Local communities need disaster information, such as alerting of oncoming tsunamis or warning of out of control forest fires which are approaching urban areas. A disaster information network may be able to help local communities by coordinating disaster information from a variety of sources and making it available to those communities which might be affected. Also, local communities can provide detailed information to the outside world as to their damage after a disaster. Information technology developments in computers, satellite remote sensing, data processing and display, and the use of the Internet have the potential of helping emergency managers cope with some of the problems caused by these disasters. Regional, national and international disaster information networks might be linked eventually to share appropriate preparedness and mitigation information for natural hazard reduction and to provide data to support response to disasters Global Disaster Information Network The Global Disaster Information Network (GDIN) (1) is a public-private partnership with a goal of improving access and effectiveness of disaster information. It is a voluntary, non-profit association of countries, organizations and professionals to share all types of disaster information. The network is using advances in information technology to promote better coordination between providers and users of information for disaster management. The Vice President established a Disaster Information Task Force on February 26, 1997 to consider how information technology might be more helpful to disaster management. His task force's report (2) "Harnessing information technology for disaster management" recommended both national and international approaches. The President signed White House Executive Order No.13151 on April 27, 2000 (3) which established the United States portion of the Global Disaster Information Network. Thirteen Federal agencies were designated to coordinate their efforts to use information technology more effectively to reduce loss of life and property from natural and man-made disasters. An Interagency Coordinating Committee was established with the Office of the Vice President, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce, and the Department of State each assigning a representative to serve as co-chairpersons of the Committee. The first GDIN international meeting was held in Washington, DC in July 1998 to consider whether or not a Global Disaster Information Network should be developed. A second GDIN conference was held in Mexico City(4) in May 1999 where it was decided to form virtual working groups to advance the concept. The third GDIN meeting was held in Ankara, Turkey(5) in April 2000 with representatives from 32 countries who developed a framework and various organizational arrangements for further development of the network. Additional virtual working groups were established to prepare more detailed reports for the fourth GDIN meeting held in March, 2001 in Canberra, Australia(6). Planning is well underway for the fifth GDIN meeting scheduled to be held in Rome, Italy in June, 2002 Vision, Mission and Goals GDIN Vision: "The right information in the right format, to the right person, in time to make the right decision" GDIN Mission: "To harness information technology so as to save lives and reduce damage to property and the environment resulting from natural, technological and biological disasters" GDIN Goals: Increase awareness of the importance and value of disaster-related information and best practices for managing it. Adapt remote sensing, computer, communication, information, and network technologies to acquire, produce, and disseminate disaster data, information, and knowledge. Promote the development of national and regional capacity and infrastructures to access, manage, disseminate and use disaster information carried by GDIN in a digital format. Foster the sharing of prevention about all disaster management functions via a primary portal of access to national and international networks. Facilitate development and foster adoption of mutually-agreed interoperability, metadata, and classification standards to support global sharing of disaster information. Provide disaster information and support services as directed by GDIN's governing body. The Communities Working Group (7) is the current name of the virtual group which is considering how GDIN can be of service to local governments: cities, counties, and provinces. Identification of problems which local governments face in disaster information management, especially in technology-challenged countries has included study of local government user needs. In addition to providing disaster prevention and mitigation technical information before a hurricane, tornado, or flood, the network should assist in providing alerting and warning information immediately prior to a disaster. The network should then assist in providing the emergency responder with appropriate emergency management information. Also, after a disaster, the emergency managers should consider the information needs of the first responders and a number of classes of victims. User Information Needs Julie Riley presented a paper at the Emergency Planning Society's 1995 conference at Scarborough, England entitled "After Disaster: information in emergencies" which had a typology of disaster victims. Her classifications included: (a) dead; (b) survivors; (c) bereaved; (d) family and friends of the survivors and the bereaved; (e) first-responder rescuers; (f) providers of assistance; (g) community affected by the disaster; and (h) the general public. For example, the information needs of the survivors (those directly impacted by the disaster but not killed) during the disaster and immediately afterwards might be: Warnings and evacuation orders Severity estimates "What is happening?": a need for information that can be acted upon Help in treating injuries and shock Information on missing friends and relatives Where to get emergency transport, accomodation, food, etc How to contact family and friends National Disaster Information Networks There are a variety of disaster information systems which might be of value in the evolution of national and global disaster information networks. Two of the organizations developing such systems are the Pacific Disaster Center and the Western Disaster Center. Pacific Disaster Center The Pacific Disaster Center (8) is a Federal information processing center located in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii which is being developed as an organizational and technological model for global, national and local initiatives in disaster management. Actually, the Pacific Disaster Center serves as a nodal model for the Global Disaster Information Network. Federal participants in this development program have included the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Pacific Disaster Center uses data from a variety of sources to produce more than 100 different products, such as tsunami travel time maps, tsunami evacuation maps, flood inundation maps, annotated imagery of damaged areas, maps of available shelters, etc. The Pacific Disaster Center held a three-day Users' Conference on April 28th-30th, 1999. The purpose of the conference was to familiarize users with the Center's capabilities and products and to provide a forum for users. Each user was invited to give a presentation on his organization and its mission, overview of operations, recent activities, suggestions for ways PDC could assist the user, and description of ways the user might be able to assist PDC. The Pacific Disaster Center and the Center of Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Affairs co-sponsored the Asia-Pacific Disaster Conference '99, September 19-22, 1999 at the Outrigger Kauai Beach Hotel, Lihue, Maui, Hawaii. The conference was designed to identify user needs and enhance collaboration among the participants who included disaster managers and responders from Alaska, Hawaii, North America, Pacific insular states, Asia and international humanitarian organizations. Technologies examined at the conference included remote sensing, image manipulation, information management, medical technology, telemedicine, chemical and biological sensors, decontamination, water and power. The Pacific Disaster Center also actively participated in a special disaster information conference in October, 2000. Special information technology developments appropriate for disasters were presented at the GDIN Information Technology Exposition & Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, 9-11 October 2000 (9) Western Disaster Center The Western Disaster Center, Inc. (10) is a nonprofit public benefit corporation in California which has been organized to provide for increased public safety through the enhancement of disaster and emergency management capabilities through the application of advanced technology and research associated with the establishment of a National Disaster Information Network. The Western Disaster Center is proposed as the US western regional component of the evolving National Disaster Information Network - the Western Disaster Information Network. The mission of the Western Disaster Center is to provide effective and timely dissemination of information to federal, state and local emergency commanders in the western contiguous United States. The Center is operating at the NASA Ames Research Center with the WDC Prototype Operations Facility at Moffett Federal Airfield, California. World Agency of Planetary Monitoring and Earthquake Risk Reduction The World Agency of Planetary Monitoring and Earthquake Risk Reduction (WAPMERR) was created in May 2001 in a founding conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The purpose of this non-profit organization headquartered in Geneva is to collaborate with research institutions and government agencies in efforts to reduce the effects of natural hazards. Professor Max Wyss, a seismologist was named director. The charter, membership of the steering committee, and other information about the agency can be found on its web page (11). Any IAEM member interested in this program may become a member of the General Assembly by filling out the application form on the web page. The Communities Working Group intends to examine both user requirements and existing disaster information systems so that composite disaster information management systems which incorporate the best features of various systems might be developed to help users. There is a role for IAEM members who are users of disaster information to help in the evolution of this project. IAEM members interested in participating in the (virtual) Communities Working Group are invited to contact Bernie Joyce, Research Fellow, School of Earth Sciences University of Melbourne, Australia, e-mail: ebj@unimelb.edu.au REFERENCES AND NOTES Global Disaster Information Network www.gdin.org For further information on GDIN, contact the Executive Director Larry W. Roeder, Jr. Policy Advisor (Natural Disasters and Emergency Information) Bureau of International Organizations US Department of State, Washington DC 20520 tel: 202-647-5070 fax: 202-647-9722 email: gdincommunity@hotmail.com. November 1997 Disaster Information Task Force report www.westerndisastercenter.org/references.htm White House Executive Order No.13151 www.westerndisastercenter.org/references.htm Report of local government working group at Mexico City GDIN meeting, May 1999. www.state.gov/www/issues/relief/coile.html Report of local government working group at Ankara, Turkey GDIN meeting, April 2000 www.gdin-international.org/ankara/coile.doc GDIN www.gdin.org GDIN Communities Working Group www.GDIN-international.org/wg/small.html Pacific Disaster Center. www.pdc.org GDIN Information Technology Exposition & Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, 9-11 October 2000, www.erim-int.com/CONF/GDIN/gdin.html Western Disaster Center www.westerndisastercenter.org World Agency of Planetary Monitoring and Earthquake Risk Reduction www.wapmerr.org