Feasibility of Using Mobile Apps in Communication and Dissemination Process of Multi-hazard Early Warning (MHEW) Mechanism in Sri Lankan Context

Abstract

The alerts given accurately on time via Early Warning mechanisms can save thousands of lives as well as can minimize the level of damage to the Critical Infrastructure to a greater extent. With the rapid occurrence of natural hazards day by day, more emphasis on Disaster Risk Reduction strategies are concerned in order to minimize the disaster-related economic losses and damages. The concept of Multi-Hazard Early Warning emerged with the implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction strategies over the world to work under different global frameworks, mainly with the initiation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. Communication and dissemination component of the Multi-Hazard Early Warning mechanism can be considered more significant in terms of reducing the damages and losses over lives and properties. Science and technological applications can be vividly incorporated to enhance the efficiency of delivering Multi-Hazard Early Warning messages from upstream, interface phases towards the downstream community level. With the proper delivery of Early Warning information through technological applications, the efforts on minimizing the damage extent on Critical Infrastructures can be undertaken. This concern is mainly elaborated as one of the seven targets in Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. Under this research study, different mobile apps using in different countries are overviewed with the special focus on the comparison of mobile apps that are currently using in Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia. With these concerns, the feasibility of using mobile apps in disaster Early Warning mechanism in Sri Lankan context was examined using a questionnaire survey which was conducted within 10 Grama Niladari divisions. Under this, community responses were collected from 323 responses and these were analyzed using Fuzzy logic approach to identify the decision making scores of the community on level of importance and level of usefulness of the mobile apps.