Technology in Emergency and Disaster Management

Technology in Emergency and Disaster Management
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Technology in Emergency and Disaster Management
The article “Technology Plays an Increasing Role in Emergency Management” presents an interview between Eric Holdeman and “Microsoft Disaster Response Chief Technologist” Tony Surma. From this interview, several lessons emerge regarding the use of technology in disaster and emergency management. First, the role that technology plays in emergency management is explained. Surma posits that during an emergency, technology connects, informs, and consequently saves the lives of the people who have been impacted by the disaster (Holdeman, 2018). Through technology, the areas that have been impacted by disaster can remain connected to enable communication between the government and citizens and victims and their relatives (Holdeman, 2018). Technology also facilitates effective coordination of rescue missions in emergencies. Lastly, technology facilitates analysis and tracking of natural disasters so that crucial lessons can be drawn to support the development of better solutions (Holdeman, 2018).
The second lesson that emerges from the interview is that modern technologies like cloud computing have the potential to improve emergency management several folds beyond the current state. According to Surma, most disasters usually overload or even knock out local infrastructure and make it impossible to access communication systems and data (Holdeman, 2018). This challenge is easily overcome through cloud computing since data is usually stored far from the location of the disaster.

This ensures that data is accessible even during the disaster.
The third important lesson is that disaster management should be proactive as opposed to reactive. As Surma posits, there is the need to apply technology to learn from past disaster experience and build solutions that can address disasters before they can occur (Holdeman, 2018). He argues that with the effective application of technology in disaster management, disaster responders will be adequately prepared to address disasters when they do occur.

Reference
Holdeman, E. (2018). Technology Plays an Increasing Role in Emergency Management. [Online] Govtech.com. Available at: http://www.govtech.com/em/training/Technology-Increasing-Role-Emergency-Management.html [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].