Disaster informatics

Disaster Informatics is the study of the use of information and technology in the preparation, mitigation, response and recovery phases of disasters and other emergencies. It began to emerge as a field after the successful use of a variety of technologies in recent disasters, including the Asian Tsunami, September 11th and Hurricane Katrina.

External Links

• 911.gov: Community Response Grids, E-government, and Emergencies, University of Maryland
• Disaster Informatics at Indiana University School of Informatics
• FCW article on use of interoperable radios, MESH, VOIP, etc in Katrina.
• American Red Cross Technology Response to Hurricane Katrina (PDF)
• WDC Center for Disaster Informatics
• RoofNet software for building a MESH network with routers - see also Roofnet Implementation
• How to build a mesh network with WRT54Gs
• Xastir open source mapping / APRS program
• Mumbai Help Blog set up after the Mumbai Bombings
• Dina Mehta's blog on Social Networks in Disasters
• Disaster & Crisis Resources at ALA
• Disaster Central
• DIsaster Resource
• International Association of Emergency Managers
• Colorado Natural Hazards Center
• Common Alerting Protocol
• MapAction - organisation that uses geomatics in disaster management
• ICOR - International Consortium for Organizational Resilience

Relevant Journals

• Journal of Homeland Security and Information Management
• Homeland Defense Journal
• International Journal of Critical Infrastructure (free articles here)
• Journal of the American Society of Professional Emergency Planners