Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Committee on Using Information Technology to Enhance Disaster Management, National Research Council ISBN: 0-309-66744-5, 192 pages, 8.5 x 11, (2007) This free PDF was downloaded from: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11824.html Visit the National Academies Press online, the authoritative source for all books from the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council: • Download hundreds of free books in PDF • Read thousands of books online, free • Sign up to be notified when new books are published • Purchase printed books • Purchase PDFs • Explore with our innovative research tools Thank you for downloading this free PDF. If you have comments, questions or just want more information about the books published by the National Academies Press, you may contact our customer service department toll-free at 888-624-8373, visit us online, or send an email to Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11824.html IMPROVING DISASTER MANAGEMENT THE ROLE OF I T IN MIT IGAT ION, PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY Ramesh R. Rao, Jon Eisenberg, and Ted Schmitt, Editors Committee on Using Information Technology to Enhance Disaster Management Computer Science and Telecommunications Board Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11824.html THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Gov- erning Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engi- neering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This study was supported by the Battelle Memorial Institute under subcontract number 189936 to a contract between the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Battelle Memorial Institute. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or rec- ommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations and agencies that provided sup- port for the project. International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-10396-1 International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-10396-7 Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www. nap.edu. Copyright 2007 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11824.html The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating soci- ety of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedi- cated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its mem- bers, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advis- ing the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sci- ences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal gov- ernment. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Acad- emy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering commu- nities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. www.national-academies.org Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11824.html Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11824.html COMMITTEE ON USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE DISASTER MANAGEMENT RAMESH R. RAO, University of California, San Diego, Chair YIGAL ARENS, University of Southern California ART BOTTERELL, Contra Costa County, California, Office of the Sheriff TIMOTHY X. BROWN, University of Colorado, Boulder JOHN R. HARRALD, George Washington University RICHARD HOWARD, Rutgers University NANCY JESUALE, NetCity Engineering, Inc. DAVID KEHRLEIN, Environmental Science Research Institute WILLIAM MAHEU, San Diego, California, Police Department ROBIN R. MURPHY, University of South Florida ROBERT NECHES, University of Southern California MASANOBU SHINOZUKA, University of California, Irvine ELLIS STANLEY, City of Los Angeles PETER STEENKISTE, Carnegie Mellon University GIO WIEDERHOLD, Stanford University Staff JON EISENBERG, Study Director TED SCHMITT, Program Officer DAVID PADGHAM, Associate Program Officer GLORIA WESTBROOK, Senior Program Assistant (through December 2006) JENNIFER M. BISHOP, Program Associate v Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11824.html COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD JOSEPH F. TRAUB, Columbia University, Chair ERIC BENHAMOU, Benhamou Global Ventures, LLC FREDERICK R. CHANG, University of Texas, Austin WILLIAM DALLY, Stanford University MARK E. DEAN, IBM Almaden Research Center DAVID J. DEWITT, University of Wisconsin, Madison DEBORAH ESTRIN, University of California, Los Angeles JOAN FEIGENBAUM, Yale University KEVIN KAHN, Intel Corporation JAMES KAJIYA, Microsoft Corporation MICHAEL KATZ, University of California, Berkeley RANDY H. KATZ, University of California, Berkeley SARA KIESLER, Carnegie Mellon University TERESA H. MENG, Stanford University PRABHAKAR RAGHAVAN, Yahoo! Research FRED B. SCHNEIDER, Cornell University ALFRED Z. SPECTOR, Independent Consultant, Pelham, New York WILLIAM STEAD, Vanderbilt University ANDREW J. VITERBI, Viterbi Group, LLC PETER WEINBERGER, Google, Inc. JEANNETTE M. WING, Carnegie Mellon University JON EISENBERG, Director KRISTEN BATCH, Associate Program Officer RADHIKA CHARI, Administrative Coordinator RENEE HAWKINS, Financial Associate MARGARET MARSH HUYNH, Senior Program Assistant HERBERT S. LIN, Senior Scientist LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Senior Program Officer DAVID PADGHAM, Associate Program Officer JANICE SABUDA, Senior Program Assistant TED SCHMITT, Program Officer BRANDYE WILLIAMS, Program Assistant JOAN WINSTON, Program Officer For more information on CSTB, see its Web site at http://www.cstb.org, write to CSTB, National Research Council, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Wash- ington, DC 20001, call (202) 334-2605, or e-mail at Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11824.html Preface To improve how information technology is used in disaster manage- ment, Section 214 of the E-Government Act of 2002 called on the admin- istrator of the Office of Electronic Government in the Office of Manage- ment and Budget, in consultation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to “ensure that a study is conducted on using information technology to enhance crisis preparedness, response, and consequence management of natural and manmade disasters” (see Box P.1). In early 2005, in response to a request from FEMA to the Na- tional Research Council (NRC), via a contract with Battelle Memorial Institute, the Committee on Using Information Technology to Enhance Disaster Management was established under the auspices of the Com- puter Science and Telecommunications Board to study these issues. The committee’s first report, Summary of a Workshop on Using Information Tech- nology to Enhance Disaster Management,1 summarized the discussions at a public workshop held on June 22-23, 2005. Representatives of federal, state, and local government agencies; private industry; and the research community participated in the workshop. Over the next year the committee met four times and made several site visits to gather input from federal agencies; state and local public 1National Research Council, Summary of a Workshop on Using Information Technology to Enhance Disaster Management, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., September 2005. vii Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11824.html viii PREFACE BOX P.1 Section 214 of the E-Government Act of 2002, Public Law 107-347 SEC. 214. ENHANCING CRISIS MANAGEMENT THROUGH ADVANCED IN- FORMATION TECHNOLOGY (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to improve how information tech- nology is used in coordinating and facilitating information on disaster prepared- ness, response, and recovery, while ensuring the availability of such information across multiple access channels. (b) IN GENERAL.— (1) STUDY ON ENHANCEMENT OF CRISIS RESPONSE.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the Feder- al Emergency Management Agency, shall ensure that a study is conducted on using information technology to enhance crisis preparedness, response, and con- sequence management of natural and manmade disasters. (2) CONTENTS.—The study under this subsection shal address— (A) a research and implementation strategy for effective use of informa- tion technology in crisis response and consequence management, including the more effective use of technologies, management of information technology re- search initiatives, and incorporation of research advances into the information and communications systems of— (i) the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and (ii) other Federal, State, and local agencies responsible for crisis preparedness, response, and consequence management; and (B) opportunities for research and development on enhanced technolo- gies into areas of potential improvement as determined during the course of the study. (3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date on which a contract is entered into under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall submit a report on the study, including findings and recommendations to— (A) the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representa- tives. (4) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.—Other Federal departments and agencies with responsibility for disaster relief and emergency assistance shall fully cooper- ate with the Administrator in carrying out this section. (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be appropriat- ed for research under this subsection, such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2003. (c) PILOT PROJECTS.—Based on the results of the research conducted under subsection (b), the Administrator, in consultation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall initiate pilot projects or report to Congress on other activities that further the goal of maximizing the utility of information technology in disaster management. The Administrator shall cooperate with other relevant agen- cies, and, if appropriate, State, local, and tribal governments, in initiating such pilot projects. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.