Understanding the Role of E-Governance Challenges in Evacuation Response for Building a Safe and Secure Community

Abstract

Abstract: This study aims to understand the role of e-governance services for evacuation response using advanced technologies. Disasters are an inseparable part of human life and have always afflicted civilizations. In a cyclone prone area like Balasore district of Odisha, people are facing a lot of problems in their livelihoods before and aftermath of the disastrous situations. Even with the advent of new technologies, natural hazards are still causing environmental destruction, human suffering, and social and economic disruption. There is necessity of utilizing technologies to facilitate vital information integration and sharing among disaster responders and organizations. While geographic information systems (GIS) can provide information on the static locations of critical infrastructure and evacuation routes, they do not provide the dynamically changing locations of things and people on the move. In contrast, radio frequency identification (RFID) wireless network technology can automatically identify and track the movement of assets (i.e., fire engines, ambulances, and rescue workers) and vulnerable citizens on the move (i.e., the elderly and the disabled), and hence providing local governments and communities with real-time information and enhanced decision-making capabilities, during chaotic disaster response operations (i.e., evacuation). So, we need to understand the egovernment services needed to build regional disaster preparedness, as an integral part of e-government development policy.