ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS: ODPEM AND ICT

1. LEADERS 2006 COURSE International Course on Development and Disasters with a Special Focus on Health November 30 – December 1, 2006 ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS: ODPEM AND ICT Ronald Jackson Director General (Actg.) Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management

2. Outline Upon completion of this module, participants will be aware of the following: The Importance of Communication in Disaster Management Be aware of the various methods of information communication systems used by ODPEM Be exposed to some examples of these sources in use at ODPEM Challenges Experienced in the utilization of ICT Systems Ongoing Development at ODPEM

3. Introduction • Unplanned Settlements • The global experience Increased occurrences in natural disasters • Significant Damage in billions of dollars • The Challenge is therefore to predict, forecast and manage hazards to reduce threat to life and property • Communication is therefore essential to the process of risk reduction

4. DEFINITION • Communication the process of sharing information a form of social interaction where at least two interacting agents share a common set of signs and language. • In a simplistic form information is sent from a sender or encoder to a receiver or decoder.

5. DEFINITIONS • Communication: "Any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person information about that person's needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or affective states. Communication may be intentional or unintentional, may involve conventional or unconventional signals, may take linguistic or nonlinguistic forms, and may occur through spoken or other modes."

6. DEFINITION • Information Communication Technology (ICT): is concerned with the use of technology in managing and processing and communicating information

7. Communication facilitates situational awareness at all stages of the Disaster Cycle Mitigation Preparedness GIS Planning DISASTER Recovery Response Rehabilitation Reconstruction

8. Importance of Communication In Disaster Management? • Raises awareness of the hazards • Provides a means of alert and early warning • To take preventive measures to avert disasters • Provides data for: • integration and analysis of spatial and temporal disaster data • modeling and simulation disasters more precisely. • Allows for real-time decision making and enhance emergency response capabilities.

9. Importance of Communication In Disaster Management? • Allows for vulnerable population and disaster management persons to be aware of the details of their vulnerability • Allows for mitigation decisions to be made • Builds support for programmes and activities which support mitigation

10. Importance of Communication In Disaster Management? • Allows for planners to have an in depth understanding of vulnerable population, vulnerable areas, hazards and sectors at risk • Allows for appropriate planning measures to be put in place

11. Short Term Early Warning Pre-impact activities Evacuation Long Term Land use Planning Building Community Resilience Relocation Medium Training Public Awareness Shelter Program Contingency Planning Structural Mitigation Reconstruction Importance of Communication In Disaster Management?

12. FLOOD-THREAT RECOGNITION • The goal of the flood-threat recognition system is to enable early identification, location, and degree of potential flood situations. The system consists of activities and arrangements, of which the primary elements are: • Monitoring • Observation and recording • Data transmission • Data assembly and display • Forecasting • Data processing and analysis • Forecast preparation • Validation and updates

13. WARNING DISSEMINATION • Warning dissemination is the mechanism by which local officials and the effected public are informed that a flood threat condition exists. • Warning methods may include: • audio alarms, • beeper systems to call key officials, • the use of public radio and television • Door- to-door warning • sirens and public address systems.

14. What can be communicated WHERE IS THE INCIDENT?

15. Map 5: Road Networks Impacted by Hurricane Dennis What can be communicated WHAT HAS BEEN DAMAGED?

16. 3D MODEL OF PORT MARIA SHOWING THE HURRICANE ALLEN STORM SURGE BOUNDARY

17. ODPEM and ICT • ODPEM currently utilizes a myriad of systems to aid communication. • Use dates back to the early 1980’s • Built on rudimentary methods and systems previously employed by the community

18. TYPES OF COMMUNICATION TOOLS USED AT ODPEM

19. Communication Tools Utilized at ODPEM • Electronic Message Handling System (EMHS)

20. Other ICT’s currently in use • Sensors • GIS

21. GIS • GIS allows you to spatially represent areas at risk and the level of Risk associated with a particular Hazard. • This in turn guides decision making as to possible Mitigation measures

22. What are sensors? • Physical device (most are electrical) that detects a signal suggesting a change in the normal state • Links directly/indirectly through a computer, so that the value sensed becomes human readable;

23. Examples in Jamaica • Met Services • Weather stations • Radar • Rainfall Gauges • ODPEM/WRA • Telemetric Early Warning Systems and Community Flood Warning systems • Stream Flow Gauges • Seismic Unit • Ground Acceleration Stations • Seismic subsystem • Sea-level subsystem

24. CASE STUDIES • Rio Cobre, St. Catherine • Cave River, St. Ann • Pedro River, St. Ann • North and South Gully (Montego Bay) • Annotto Bay/Fort George, St. Mary • Rio Grande, Portland • Rio Minho, Clarendon

25. BACKGROUND RIO COBRE • Floods of June 1986 cost the country J$415 mil. In losses • Prompted the implementation of a flood damage reduction programme: • Flood Plain Mapping • Improvement of flood control methods • Development of Community Flood Warning Systems Island wide • Installation of Automatic Flood Warning Systems • Flood Hazard Maps

26. BACKGROUND RIO COBRE • Project developed to improve accuracy and reliability of predictions for flooding • Using advanced hydrologic and meteorological automated Flood Warning System • Public Awareness Programmes • Training in communications, warnings and evacuation procedures

27. BACKGROUND RIO COBRE • The system collects rainfall and stream flow data at sites in the upper watershed. • Information transferred electronically to a base station. • Alarm system would be used if levels were exceeded. • Locating the gauges allowed for lead time in evacuation. • Stations would be manned 24 hours.

28. BACKGROUND Cave River • Initiated due to recurrent and extensive flooding since 1900 • Program implemented in two parts – 1982 and 1986 • The project was seen as a pilot project that if successful could be implemented in other such affected communities.

29. BACKGROUND Cave River • A total of 21 caves and sinkholes between Cave Valley to Aenon Town • 12 of which exist in Aenon Town alone • Town is a part of well interconnected sinkhole system, controlled by faults and fractures • Caves and sinkholes have a high capacity for receiving flood waters

30. BACKGROUND CAVE RIVER • The project included a hydrologic simulation study • Hydraulic Analysis used to define 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 year floods. • Implementation of a Flood Management Program • Cleaning of the sinkhole • Strong public awareness component stressing maintenance responsibility • Mapping

31. Challenges of the use of Sensors • Reliability (e.g. incomplete information needs to be detected); • Performance: guarantees efficiency; • Maintenance and training: in-house capability; • Cost: benefit/profitable; • Security (e.g. hostile environment); • Technological upgrade; • Supporting infrastructure to maximize use of technology

32. Information Challenges • Credibility of Data • Availability (data exists but are not easy to locate or difficult and costly to acquire) • Standardization • Maximizing the utility of available information • Interoperability

33. Value of FEWS to community • The few respondents who felt the system was unreliable felt so because: • It cannot stop flooding • The system needed an alarm • It needed someone stationed their • There was lack of communication with ODPEM

34. General Value • Knowing the danger • Personal preparation • Evacuation Planning with ODPEM”s Assistance • Hazard location

35. Success/Value of FEWS Rio Cobre Telemetric System • Rain gauges operational since 1993 • Biannual preventative maintenance since 2000 • Daily television broadcast of rainfall measures for public information since 1993 • Five years of daily rainfall data providing knowledge base for flood studies • Continuous operation of one base station since 1993 • Timely closure of major roadway during flood events

36. Success/Value of FEWS Rio Cobre Community Flood Warning System • Community ownership and interest, community participation despite political barriers • Community Awareness of causative factors of flooding • Community mobilization • Cave River Community Flood Warning System

37. Success/Value of FEWS Cave River Community Flood Warning System • Community ownership and interest, community participation despite political barriers • Community awareness of causative factors of flooding • Community mobilization • Attracted Parish Council financing for the clearing of debris to minimize the impacts of flood events • Attracted environmental projects supporting flood disaster mitigation

38. Challenges of FEWS Rio Cobre Telemetry Flood Warning System • Collaboration of three government agencies under the portfolio of two Ministries without a formal agreement or framework • System upgrade • Institutional roles and capacities • “Ground truthing” of transmitted observations during flood events • Allocation and disbursement of government funds • Implementation of forecast capability • Cost of maintaining system

39. Challenges Rio Cobre Community Flood Warning System • Threats of violence affecting maintenance and monitoring • Solid waste collection inefficient resulting in dumping in rivers • Radio telecommunications is localized and not maintained which has affected the communication between cooperating agencies and community groups during an event • Sustainability of community participation and interest • Mechanism for the collection, central storage and review of flood levels need to be put in place • Getting the local authorities to realize their stake in the system

40. Challenges Cave River • Radio Telecommunications system is localized and not maintained which has affected the communication of rainfall and flood levels between cooperating agencies and the community • Mechanism for collection, central storage and review of rainfall and flood levels needs to be put in place. • Prediction table needs to be reviewed and updated • Sustainability of community involvement • Getting the local authorities to realize their stake in the system

41. Ongoing Development • Real Time Information Exchange among partners before, during and after a disasters • Develop Community Vulnerability Ranking System (e.g. community boundaries, population density, hazard history); • Network Analysis and modeling: shortest path, nearest facilities, evacuation planning, simulation;

42. Ongoing Development • Web-mapping (report information, development of 4 ODPEM applications); • Re-establish telecommunications facilities • Link GIS with Electronic Message Handling System • Use of GIS to conduct Modelling • Instituting SMS Texting

43. Thank You Office Of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management Tel: 876-928-5111 Fax: 876-9285503 Email: rjackson@odpem.org.jm url: http://www.odpem.org.jm