emergency response

See the following -

GeoMOOSE - The Open Source - Common Operating Picture Software

Steve | EPC Updates | June 27, 2013

Yesterday's post pointed out there is a growing body of Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) that can be used for disaster preparedness and response. One such program is GeoMOOSE [...]. Read More »

2019 International Conference on Disaster Medicine and Hurricane Resiliency Draws Hundreds

Press Release | American University of the Caribbean | March 20, 2019

More than 280 healthcare professionals, emergency preparedness experts, and government leaders gathered on campus March 8-11 with the goal of uniting their collective experience and expertise to increase their communities’ ability to manage hurricanes and other disasters. Attendees represented 12 countries, including 9 Caribbean islands, and a multitude of backgrounds in disaster preparedness and response, including disaster medicine and veterinary medicine, nursing, hospital administration, mental health, telehealth, EMS and first responders, disaster recovery and humanitarian assistance, medical education, and more.

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Asia Foundation At Google’s Big Tent On Open Data, Disasters

Michelle Chang Rodriguez | The Asia Foundation | June 27, 2013

On July 2 in Sendai, Japan, nearly a year and a half after the tragic earthquake and tsunami devastated the region, The Asia Foundation will participate in a Google conference to examine using open data in disaster relief. [...] Read More »

City’s 911 Operators Use Pen And Paper As Computers Fail

Marc Santora | New York Times | May 30, 2013

Emergency operators in New York City have been forced on at least three occasions since Wednesday to resort to using pen and paper to record 911 calls and dispatch workers after their computer system went dark. Read More »

CMS: Databases Can Be Used For Disaster Planning To Aid Vulnerable Populations

Susan D. Hall | FierceHealthIT | April 26, 2013

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will allow health information from eight databases to be used to identify vulnerable people who might need help during an emergency. Read More »

Confronting Catastrophic Disasters With 21St Century Technologies

Dan Hanfling, Tara O’Toole | The Hill | September 9, 2019

The unfolding tragedy in the Bahamas demonstrates that the 21st century will be marked by increasingly frequent, often catastrophic disasters of unprecedented scope and scale. Yet again, the unprecedented challenges of disaster management are being met with mostly conventional, labor-intensive, costly, and often inadequately slow response efforts. These 21st-century threats, particularly those that affect livelihood, health, and well-being, deserve the application of 21st-century technologies. Read More »

Dispatch from Denmark

 

Denmark is a remarkable country of 5 million people with a robust social support system. Healthcare is provided for life as part of being Danish. If you lose your job, generous unemployment benefits provide for the ongoing well being of you and your family. Income inequality is among the lowest in the world (see the world mapped by income inequality below). When people gather together in Denmark, there is a sense of common purpose and shared experiences. The Danish call this “hygge” or coziness. I spoke about the experiences of the Meaningful Use program, the evolving US reimbursement system, and the quest for innovation - especially in the areas of social networking for healthcare, mobile, analytics, and cloud hosting...

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DoD Looks for Disaster Response Solutions Through Artificial Intelligence Innovation Competition

An important new trend in the federal sector involves the use of "innovation competitions" to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions for major problems that the agencies face. An ongoing AI innovation competition from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), known as the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Health Outcomes Challenge began in March 2019. While that competition is only open to major consulting firms, the Department of Defense (DoD) was the trendsetter here and has been working on a series of AI competitions that began with the xView competition in March 2018.

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DoD, Partners Share Mapping Technology For Disaster Relief

Cheryl Pellerin | Directions Magazine | July 30, 2014

The Defense Department is using GeoSHAPE tool that will soon be available to assist countries and organizations dealing with the deadly consequences of hurricanes, earthquakes and other disasters and humanitarian crises, experts from DoD. The open-source tool is not directly related to shapefiles; the acronym stands for geospatial tool for security, humanitarian assistance and partnership engagement...

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FIRST Response Radio – Life Saving Information In Disaster

Mike Adams | FrontlineSMS | June 19, 2013

In times of disaster radio not only saves lives, it can also bring hope and critical information to the affected community. [...] In times like these, people are in desperate need of news and information on how to get to safety and how to survive. However, the unfortunate trend seen recently is that when radio is so important, many times it goes off the air and does not come back until well after the emergency is over. Read More »

GWU Milken Institute School of Public Health releases report on deaths due to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and outlines steps to protect the most vulnerable communities from disasters

Press Release | GWU Milken Institute School of Public Health | August 28, 2018

In an independent report published today, researchers at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (GW Milken Institute SPH) estimated there were 2,975 excess deaths in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria from September 2017 through the end of February 2018. The researchers also identified gaps in the death certification and public communication processes and went on to make recommendations that will help prepare Puerto Rico for future hurricanes and other natural disasters.

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How DoD Plans to Leverage Artificial Intelligence and Open Source to Improve Emergency Response and Disaster Relief

Some might not know it, but the US military plays a key role in US disaster response strategy and, accordingly, the Department of Defense (DoD) has prioritized its disaster response mission and is investing heavily towards increasing its capabilities and effectiveness. Technology is a big part of all modern DoD missions, and disaster response is no different. The most promising and transformative technology on the horizon for our future, and for the future of the DoD, is Artificial Intelligence (AI). So how exactly will the DoD leverage Artificial Intelligence technologies in order to meet the demands of the disaster response mission? Is a new Center of Excellence created by DoD, called the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC). Read More »

IBM's Smarter Approach To Contextual Cities

Shel Israel | Forbes | June 3, 2013

I am writing a book called Age of Context with Robert Scoble. It is expected to be complete in October. Following is an excerpt from a chapter called Contextual Cities and the New Urbanists. Read More »

It Takes Years To Fully Recover From Big Storms Like Sandy

The 2012 hurricane widely known as Superstorm Sandy left at least an estimated 325,000 New Jersey homes damaged or destroyed. Nearly seven years later, many of the New Jersey residents who have not fully recovered have to fend for themselves. The government funding has mostly dried up. Only two nonprofits that help survivors remain engaged...While researching the recovery efforts after Sandy, I have found that up to a third of the 2.5 million people who live in Keansburg, Belmar, Toms River and other places along the New Jersey coastline and back bays struck by the storm had not fully recovered from this disaster by October 2017 - five years later. Today, almost seven years after the storm, a lack of data and the patchwork of assistance programs make it difficult to fully assess what remains to be done.

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Public Alerts For Natural Disasters Now Available In Taiwan

Eric Chu | Google.org Blog | July 9, 2013

As Taiwan heads into another Typhoon season, the need for reliable and easily accessible information about where the next storm will hit and how to stay safe has never been more important.  That’s why we’re launching Google Public Alerts and a dedicated Google Crisis Map for Taiwan. Read More »