Articles

Abstract

Sahana is Sinhalese for "relief". Sahana rose from the waves of the Boxing Day tsunami in Sri Lanka as a free and open source software (FOSS) solution for managing information before, during, and after a disaster. Commercial disaster management systems are often unsustainable for all but the wealthiest of countries - Sahana was created as a system that can be deployed in a sustainable fashion in any country on the bare minimum of computer hardware and communications. Many of the benefits provided by FOSS contribute directly to sustainability of this solution - increased flexibility, ease of customisation, deployment not restricted by licence agreements, and skills required to support Sahana can increasingly be found in local communities.

Graeme Roberts (Beca International Ltd, PO Box 6345, Auckland.)
Michele Daly (Kestrel Group Ltd, PO Box 911 174, Auckland.)
Filomena Nelson (Ministry of Natural Resources Environment and Meteorology, Government of Samoa, Private Bag, Apia, Samoa.)

Abstract

Samoa is an independent island nation in the Pacific. Its geographic location, climate and coastal development make it vulnerable to coastal hazards such as cyclones, tsunami and storm surges. It also faces many other natural and non-natural hazards. A World Bank funded project currently in progress seeks to reduce the vulnerability of Samoa’s village communities and physical infrastructure to natural hazards and strengthen Samoa’s institutional and community capability to manage disasters.

Douglas Paton, School of Psychology, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania
Michele Daly, Kestrel Group, Auckland, New Zealand
Sara Williams, Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

Many of the natural hazards that characterise the New Zealand hazardscape have the potential to destroy infrastructure and create prolonged disruption to peoples’ lives and societal functions. Developing a capacity to adapt to such possibilities is central to contemporary emergency management. After defining adaptive capacity, this paper discusses the development of a generic model comprising personal, community and institutional indicators. A generic approach was used to accommodate the social and hazard diversity that underpins Auckland’s complex natural hazard risk context.

D. Paton (1); M. Daly (2); B. Parkes (3); D Myburgh (4); L Smith (5)

Abstract

Volcanic hazards have the potential to destroy infrastructure and create prolonged disruption to peoples’ lives and societal functions. In areas susceptible to such activity, developing a capacity to adapt to such possibilities is central to contemporary emergency management. The Auckland Region Civil Defence Emergency Management Group (CDEM Group) is responsible for emergency management in the Auckland region. It has a vision of A Resilient Auckland Region.

The rapid growth of the Internet and World Wide Web has spawned the creation of new and potentially useful software applications that may provide benefits to emergency managers. One of these applications that is currently drawing attention is the wiki.

Stadia represent some of the largest occupancy structures in the world today. Due to the intermittent usage patterns it is statistically unlikely that a stadium would require evacuation during capacity occupation – unlikely, but still possible. Because so many people can be involved it is important that evacuations of these venues run as smoothly as possible.

It sometimes does us a power of good to remind ourselves that we live on two volcanic rocks where two tectonic plates meet in a somewhat lonely stretch of windswept ocean just above the Roaring Forties. If you want drama you've come to the right place. Right Honourable Sir Geoffrey Palmer

What is Open Source and what are the benefits to Emergency Managers?

The spread of the Internet has given life to what some may say is a radical change in which software is developed. Traditionally, software development has been driven by commercial vendors that provide you with a software package that cannot be directly modified to suit your organisations needs.