Mitigating the flood disaster effects through the implementation of knowledge management: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Climate change is global threat and the world is now facing its outcomes more than the last decades. Climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of flooding among other extreme weather events. The execution of knowledge management in different phases of disaster management can be effective in mitigating damages caused by floods to natural and human environments. The present study identified effective actions to implement the five stages of knowledge management in the stages before, during and after the flood event. For this purpose, a systematic review of sources and qualitative content analysis have been applied to evaluate the published research in four stages of items collection, descriptive analysis, selection and classification, and assessment. According to the findings, the pre-crisis stage requires 13 actions in knowledge creation, 20 actions in knowledge acquisition, 7 actions in knowledge organization and storage, 23 actions in knowledge sharing, and 20 actions in knowledge use and development. The crisis phase requires 12 actions in knowledge sharing and 10 actions in knowledge use. In the post-crisis stage, 5 actions in the knowledge sharing, 11 actions in the knowledge use, and 12 actions in the knowledge evaluation phases have been identified. To prevent and manage the flood crisis, knowledge improvement and management is an effective and necessary aspect that should be considered among the organizations and communities involved in emergency management.