Findings
For
logistical reasons the meeting was rescheduled for January 11 in
Washington DC, in conjunction with the meetings of the Transportation
Research Board (TRB). There was considerable enthusiasm for
formalizing the focus group, defining a set of core technical subjects
of interest, broadening the group to include more complementary
disciplines, and expanding its activities by way of collaborative
funded research.
As a first step, over the coming weeks the group will produce a
document outlining its core subjects of interest, which will be posted
at this URL (target date: Feb 28). By way of preview, the following are the principal
items on the list:
Population counting: The decennial census is the principal source of data
on night-time population, but day-time population tracking is
imperfect, and in the event of a major disaster, rescue crews have
limited reliable knowledge of high-priority areas for deployment of resources.
Now or in the near future it should be feasible to improve the quality
of population tracking (e.g. by supplementing municipal occupancy data
with video based counting and wireless/GPS tracking, remote sensing assisted mapping
of the built environment, and integrating methods used in travel demand studies).
Interdependencies: Failure in one infrastructure grid (e.g.
electricity) has immediate and longer term downstream impacts on other
infrastructures. There are domino effects both within and among
infrastructures. There has been some study of these
interdependencies but this continues to be a high priority area of
research to support accurate disaster propagation modeling.
Adaptation: In preparation for, or following an incident, what
measures can be taken to minimize the impact of a disaster? For
example, facility networks such as hospitals, and transportation system
elements such as road networks and bridges, must be designed with
sufficient redundancy in both capacity and accessibility, to anticipate
natural forces (in the case of natural and accidental disasters) and
interdiction strategies (in the case of deliberate attacks). Evacuation
and near-real-time re-routing algorithms help to direct escaping populations
and responding service agencies.
This is a preliminary list of topics, and it is not designed to address
traditional disaster lifecycle management (planning, mitigation,
intervention, response, recovery) comprehensively, rather it identifies
specific strategic areas within the lifecycle that fall within the
domain of interest/competence of group members. If you are
interested in joining or interacting with this focus group, please
introduce yourself by e-mail (below). We will expand the list as
appropriate, and revise the Core Interests document (target date: June 30). We will
Questions
Val Noronha < noronha@ncgia.ucsb.edu >
Phone +1.805.893.8992