Can Technology be the Answer to Disasters?

Earthquakes, storms, heatwaves and floods have all been some of the major causes of deaths due
to natural disasters affecting all regions around the world. The damages incurred due to these
natural disasters amounts to billions of dollars, consequently affecting millions around the world.
While nature and its actions may be unpredictable, many new technologies promise to provide
improved forecasting. Better forecasting has allowed responders to react rapidly to areas most at
risk.

Technology has the power to survey places which would take months for us to visit and assess
physically. It can help us uncover rubble and ruins to try and subsequently find survivors in
inaccessible locations. We can also use more advanced technologies, such as infrared cameras
and thermal sensors to try and find survivors. It can evaluate the damages sustained and find safe
areas for resettlement of the affected people. In May last year, one of the most devastating
cyclones struck Odisha. The state had never experienced a cyclone of this intensity since its
existence. When the Super Cyclone hit the state in 1999, thousands of people lost their lives.
Furthermore, the state suffered total damages amounting to over four billion dollars. Cyclone
Fani had lower wind speeds than that of Super Cyclone, but it lasted much longer. It led to the
state incurring losses amounting to nine billion dollars. The main difference this time was that
the fatalities were under a hundred. The government used a Location-Based Alerting System to
warn over a million mobile users based on threat status to a locale by disseminating group
messages. Over a million people were evacuated from the most vulnerable areas.

Technology has helped us spread information to a large cluster within a short period. Technology
allows us to disseminate information to large groups of people. It can also help span out crucial
information to a group of people based on geographic location. It helps in squashing rumours and
myths, consequently preventing false information from spreading and creating panic among the
public. Technology can help answer queries of the people, like in present time with rumours
circulating about food shortages due to the coronavirus. Many people began hoarding onto food
products and other essentials. Nonetheless, through the help of social media and technology, the
government and other pertinent agencies could push the correct information to the public
averting panic. By providing accurate information, it allowed supermarket owners to restock
their products.
This data which is gathered at the time of a disaster provides valuable information such as
statistics on which areas were most affected in order to prioritise relief efforts in the right
direction. Prediction models based on past data are used to identify risk-prone regions. The
emergency services then assist these regions with a higher priority. During the COVID-19
outbreak, a team from the John Hopkins University developed a real-time tracking software.
They used all the crowd movement and healthcare data acquired during past outbreaks. The
software allowed them to envision the areas which were likely to witness an epidemic; this
allowed the local health authorities to be more prepared. The data accumulated from airlines,
buses and trains also permitted the government to track all those who were possibly infected and
put them into quarantine to ensure the virus does not proliferate.

The use of contemporary technologies helped reduce the number of deaths in some of the most
recent natural disasters. If it were not for technology, the damages induced in some of the recent
natural disasters would be much higher. With advancements taking place every day, we might
soon be able to anticipate the occurrences of natural disasters definitively. As Benjamin Franklin
once stated “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” technology plays its part in helping
us stay prepared.