From Data to Decision Making: Supporting Flood Monitoring and Warning in Vietnam

Colin Lindeman
David Askov
Pacific Disaster Center, Kihei, HI

Disaster Management and Emergency Response I
Monday March 5, 2012 - 10:45 am to noon

In 2011, over 9 million people in Southeast Asia were affected by what were called the worst floods in more than 50 years. However, Vietnam and other countries in the region suffer economic and human losses every year as a result of flooding. Under funding from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) deployed VinAWARE, a web-based early warning and decision support system which was specifically designed for Vietnam, at the beginning of the 2011 storm season.　 The system was intended for use at national and provincial levels and the pilot focused on the coastal provinces of central Vietnam. This presentation will illustrate how dynamic meteorological data and model outputs were transformed into customized flood hazard notifications and meaningful information products used to support disaster management decision making. VinAWARE, like PDC’s flagship technology DisasterAWARE, enables users to analyze, integrate and share hazard information and other relevant data such as infrastructure and population through a web-based interface.

March 11th 2011 Japan/Hawaii Tsunami Response and Early Warning using PDC's DisasterAWARE

John Livengood
Lara Payne
Pacific Disaster Center, Kihei, HI

Disaster Management and Emergency Response I
Monday March 5, 2012 - 10:45 am to noon

On March 11th 2011 a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, one of the 5 most powerful in the world, triggered a destructive tsunami along the coast Japan, propagating across the Pacific from Alaska to Chile. Approximate wave heights ranged from 5-14 meters in Japan with some reports significantly higher in Iwate Prefecture, Hawaii was inundated by 1-3 meter waves.　 This presentation will look at how the Pacific Disaster Center's DisasterAWARE platform was utilized to support early warning, evacuations, and the on-going response to the disaster in both Japan and Hawaii. DisasterAWARE, PDC's web-based decision support system, continually listens to data sources for hazard warnings around the world, providing real-time, multi-hazard monitoring, risk, and exposure estimates. The platform then disseminates warnings through the use of the internet, social media tools, and smart phones to ensure the public and disaster management professionals are informed of the hazards and potential impacts.

Disaster Management and Emergency Response Special Interest Group (SIG)

All Invited

Lunchtime Special Interest Group Meeting
Tuesday March 6, 2012 - noon to 1:30 pm

Join the Disaster Management and Emergency Response SIG lunch group for a free-flowing discussion of GIS and public safety, disaster management, emergency response and more.