Emerging Role of Artificial Intelligence for Disaster Management Based on Microblogged Communication

Abstract

Catastrophic disasters are striking more often in recent years forcing researchers to put a lot of emphasis on managing disaster information and establishing the state-of-art technologies to minimize the losses. During any natural or man-made disaster, microblogging platforms are increasingly being used to share time-sensitive information. In recent years, these platforms have become an important source to gather news about the current situation, supply of food and medicines and checking on family and friends. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based information retrieval systems serve as a novel way of gaining situation awareness and planning for relief operations during disasters. This paper summarizes various AI techniques that are being applied to process the data posted on popular microblogging platforms at the time of disaster. Case studies of few disasters in the last decade are presented which clearly emphasize that the advances in social networking platforms and information and communication technologies have created enormous opportunities for circulation and consumption of time critical information during emergencies. This study clearly illustrates the impact of the application of new and emerging AI technologies in managing disasters.