Effects and Issues of Information Sharing System for Disaster Response

Abstract

In disaster response, wherein many organizations undertake activities simultaneously and in parallel, it is important to unify the overall recognition of the situation through information sharing. Furthermore, each organization must respond appropriately by utilizing this information. In this study, we developed the Shared Information Platform for Disaster Management (SIP4D), targeted at government offices, ministries, and agencies, to carry out information sharing by intermediating between various information systems. We also developed a prototype of the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED) Crisis Response Site (NIED-CRS), which provides the obtained information on the web. We applied these systems to support disaster response efforts in the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes and other natural disasters. We analyzed the effects of and issues experienced with the information sharing systems. As effects, we found 1) the realization of increased overall efficiency, 2) validity of sharing alternative information, and 3) possibility of using the system as a basis for information integration. As future issues, we highlight the needs for 1) advance loading of data, 2) machine readability of top-down data, and 3) identifying the common minimum required items and standardization of bottom-top data.