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Abstract
The main contribution of this research is the evaluation of emerging technological opportunities for improving risk awareness and resilience of vulnerable people in disasters. The evaluation considered a survey, end-user evaluation, and co-creative workshops on technologies and was targeted to estimate the innovation potential, usefulness, importance, applicability, risks for vulnerable people, and ethical acceptability.
The capabilities of the Mobile Positioning Data tool (1) to increase risk awareness in rescue planning and emergency management in cyber-hazard situations and (2) to help in locating and evacuating tourists and other vulnerable people in disasters was evaluated. The capabilities of the Trasim tool to help in crisis communications training for improving preparedness and tackling mis/disinformation through simulated responses was evaluated. The evaluation indicated that there are a lot of innovation potential and useful technical enablers for improving disaster risk awareness and resilience, but there are also ethical challenges, and risks for misuse.
The digital divide between people in the unequal distribution of skills and access to technological means and tools remains an essential future challenge, especially with vulnerable people in a crisis. Issues of fairness and inclusivity need great attention in the application of these technologies in crises or disasters in order not to overlook such vulnerable people. The failure in critical infrastructures (e.g., energy and communications) seems to increase risks and exacerbate the situation of vulnerable people in crises. However, the potential of technological opportunities for improving operation in disasters is so essential that significant investment in research and development is recommended.
The capabilities of the Mobile Positioning Data tool (1) to increase risk awareness in rescue planning and emergency management in cyber-hazard situations and (2) to help in locating and evacuating tourists and other vulnerable people in disasters was evaluated. The capabilities of the Trasim tool to help in crisis communications training for improving preparedness and tackling mis/disinformation through simulated responses was evaluated. The evaluation indicated that there are a lot of innovation potential and useful technical enablers for improving disaster risk awareness and resilience, but there are also ethical challenges, and risks for misuse.
The digital divide between people in the unequal distribution of skills and access to technological means and tools remains an essential future challenge, especially with vulnerable people in a crisis. Issues of fairness and inclusivity need great attention in the application of these technologies in crises or disasters in order not to overlook such vulnerable people. The failure in critical infrastructures (e.g., energy and communications) seems to increase risks and exacerbate the situation of vulnerable people in crises. However, the potential of technological opportunities for improving operation in disasters is so essential that significant investment in research and development is recommended.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 103173 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction |
| Volume | 80 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Aug 2022 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
The authors would like to thank their BuildERS colleagues for fruitful collaborations during the project. This paper has benefited from funding provided by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under grant agreement No. 833496 (BuildERS).
Keywords
- Risk awareness
- Resilience
- Vulnerable people
- Location awareness
- Social media
- Emerging technologies and tools
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BuildERS: Building European Communities' Resilience and Social Capital
Molarius, R. (Manager), Heikkilä, A.-M. (Participant), Silla, A. (Participant), Bäck, A. (Participant), Parmes, E. (Participant), Keränen, J. (Participant), Airola, M. (Participant), Öörni, R. (Participant), Vainikainen, S. (Participant), Viinikainen, S. (Participant), Lusikka, T. (Participant), Peltonen, U. (Participant) & Aaltola, K. (Participant)
1/05/19 → 30/04/22
Project: EU project