Disaster Management Operations Research Articles

Enhancing Data Privacy in Wireless Sensor Networks: Investigating Techniques and Protocols to Protect Privacy of Data Transmitted Over Wireless Sensor Networks in Critical Applications of Healthcare and National Security

The article discusses the emergence of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) as a groundbreaking technology in data processing and communication. It outlines how WSNs, composed of dispersed autonomous sensors, are utilized to monitor physical and environmental factors, transmitting data wirelessly for analysis. The article explores various applications of WSNs in healthcare, national security, emergency response, and infrastructure monitoring, highlighting their roles in enhancing patient care, public health surveillance, border security, disaster management, and military operations. Additionally, it examines the foundational concepts of data privacy in WSNs, focusing on encryption techniques, authentication mechanisms, anonymization techniques, and access control mechanisms. The article also addresses vulnerabilities, threats, and challenges related to data privacy in healthcare and national security contexts, emphasizing regulatory compliance, ethical considerations, and socio-economic factors. Furthermore, it introduces the Diffusion of Innovation Theory as a framework for understanding the adoption of privacy-enhancing technologies in WSNs. Finally, the article reviews empirical studies demonstrating the efficacy of security solutions in preserving data privacy in WSNs, offering insights into advancements in safeguarding sensitive information.

US federal government contracting for disaster management

AbstractDisasters affect hundreds of millions of people every year and the response of governments is crucial in alleviating the suffering of those affected. Despite the importance of contracting in response to disasters, research on this topic is conspicuous by its absence. This paper begins to address this gap by investigating the choice of procurement contract type by US federal agencies during disaster management operations. The research relies on 47,560 contracts issued by the US federal government in response to 14 major disasters between 2005 and 2016. We build on agency theory to investigate the choice of the contract type made by federal agencies at the different stages of a relief operation. This research provides empirical evidence of the key factors underpinning the choice of contract in the context of disaster management, namely the amount of spend per contract and the type of acquisition (product or service), and reveals the moderating role of the stage of the relief operation.

Implementation of the Disaster Risk Reduction Program in Japan as an Effort for Disaster Risk Reduction in Indonesia

The natural disasters that occurred in Japan have caused losses both financially and in terms of casualties. Based on data from the Japanese government, the total losses experienced by the country from 1980 to 2010 amounted to US$ 208,230,800. Meanwhile, the number of recorded fatalities was 8,568 people, with an average of 276 fatalities per year due to natural disasters in Japan. This study aims to focus on the development of a disaster information system to reduce disaster risk in Japan which can also be implemented in Indonesia. The research method used in this study is a qualitative approach. In this approach, researchers use descriptive methods to collect data. This approach was chosen because this research was conducted during an Overseas Work Lecture through a Video Conference from Japan on May 30, 2023. The conclusions from this study indicate that the Japanese government has changed its approach to natural disasters and prioritized disaster risk reduction (DRR) programs. They focus on better regional planning, building earthquake-resistant buildings, and raising community awareness. In addition, the disaster management system in Japan involves various government ministries and agencies working together in planning, implementing, and supervising disaster management operations. The Japanese government has a strong commitment to the DRR program and regards investment in disaster risk reduction as an important measure to protect the country's life and economy. Through improving urban planning, strict construction regulations, disaster education, and active community participation, Japan is trying to live side by side with disasters and has strong resilience against these threats.

A standards-based approach to enhancing interoperability of low-cost industrial IoT flood sensors for transportation system resilience

Transportation infrastructure assets are particularly vulnerable to natural hazards, which are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change and extreme weather conditions. Floods and flash floods are among the deadliest natural hazards, accounting for 50% of vehicle-related fatalities. This underscores the need for timely transportation flood detection systems adoption. However, current flood detection technologies are inadequate in terms of coverage, speed, geographical specificity, and interoperability, making it difficult for emergency managers to respond effectively to flood events. To address this issue, we propose a high-resolution network of low-cost Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensing devices deployed at flood-prone transportation assets. These sensors collect location-specific data, which is then published in standardized formats, interfaces, and protocols, enabling other systems to generate flood forecasts, nowcasts, and warnings. A framework for Incident Management Systems (IMS) was also discussed to highlight the need for system interoperability during disaster management operations. Our solution employs standards-based interoperability, using the OIIE™ OpenO&M ecosystem architecture, to enable seamless interaction between interdependent systems and manages the risk to critical transportation infrastructure. The technology was tested at a microscale level to evaluate its performance. The model architecture supports scalable systems of systems interoperability for standardized use cases and common asset classes used in transportation, energy, facilities, and other critical infrastructure.

Skyward bound: Empowering disaster resilience with multi-UAV-assisted B5G networks for enhanced connectivity and energy efficiency

It is not uncommon that cellular communication infrastructures will likely be in a failure state when disaster strikes, e.g., floods, earthquakes, and forest fires. Therefore, developing an effective disaster management system is paramount to facing these critical circumstances. As a solution, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be deployed as temporary aerial base stations to assist beyond fifth-generation (B5G) networks during and after the disaster. UAVs are increasingly used to aid the search and rescue (SAR) teams in multiple disaster management operations to improve disaster response effectiveness. However, maintaining connectivity and improving energy efficiency are indispensable to ensure continuous communication between the UAVs and SAR and prolong the network’s lifetime. This paper proposes a multi-UAV and SAR device-to-device communication model to maintain connectivity and enhance energy efficiency in multiple disaster scenarios. A clustering approach for UAV placement is utilized to improve energy efficiency, network connectivity, and coverage. We evaluate the performance of the proposed model in terms of the average capacity, energy efficiency, coverage probability and outage probability. The simulation results demonstrate an improved performance of multi-UAV and SAR collaborations and their appropriateness to support efficient and reliable disaster recovery in hard-to-reach and remote disaster areas.

PENGARUH KEMAMPUAN PERSONEL DAN MATERIEL KORPS MARINIR TERHADAP OPERASI PENANGGULANGAN BENCANA

The involvement of elements of the Marine Corps in disaster management operations is to mobilize personnel and materials of the Marine Corps in disaster management operations. In order to improve the quality of resources, personnel and material capabilities are needed to support the main tasks in the context of disaster management. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of personnel capabilities and material capabilities on the success of the task of disaster management operations for the Marine Corps. The subjects in this study were soldiers of the Marine Corps as many as 127 respondents. The sampling technique uses a non-probability sampling technique where all respondents have the right to be studied. The method used is a quantitative method with data processing using SPSS 25. The results of this study based on hypothesis testing are the t-test of the personnel ability variable of 4.450 while the t-table obtained is 1.661 and the t-test of the material ability variable is 8.946 while the t-table obtained is 1.661. This means that these two variables affect the success of the task of disaster management operations for the Marine Corps. The value of the f test in this study is 65.730, while the f table obtained is 3.091. This means that simultaneously the variables of personnel capabilities and material capabilities affect the success of disaster management operations. The contribution of the two independent variables to the success of the task of disaster management operations for the Marine Corps is 0.578, which means that it is 57.8% and the remaining 42.2% is influenced by other variables.

Feature selection-based decision model for UAV path planning on rough terrains

Path planning and obstacle avoidance in 3D terrain have been identified as a monumental challenge for a UAV in a variety of autonomous missions, such as disaster management, and search and rescue operations. In large terrain areas, it is a key problem for traditional approaches to search within the point-cloud maps to find a global path for a UAV considering the flight safety, maneuverability, weather constraints, and fuel cost. Hence, this paper proposes a trajectory planning technique for global and local path planning of a fixed-wing UAV above 3D terrain under static and dynamic constraints. For global path generation, a novel feature selection-based decision model has been proposed to select the features of a point-cloud map and transform them into the feature set. The feature set is utilized by an A* multi-directional planner with an extensive search area to deliver an optimal global path. The global path is assumed as the UAV’s reference waypoints. The motion of the UAV on reference waypoints is simplified with two coordinates (R,d), where R is the cumulative distance covered by the UAV along the reference waypoints and d is its offset distance from the reference line segment in time t. For the local path planning, offset trajectories are generated along with reference waypoints to avoid collisions. Cost functions have been added so that the best global and local path can be chosen, taking into account altitude, weather, and fuel constraints. The simulation results and comparison show that the proposed approach outperforms various other 3D UAV path planning techniques in complex terrain.

Flood Vulnerability Assessment of Communities in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria

Floods are natural events, however, due to various anthropogenic activities coupled with climate change, flooding tends to be both human-induced and natural events. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) techniques can spatially process different physical-environmental parameters in flood risk assessment and the present study determine the extent of vulnerability among the communities in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. From the analysis, spatial extent of 932.26 km2 (13.48%) showed low flood vulnerability level while a spatial extent of 3411.37 km2 (49.33%) and 2572.09 km2 (37.19%) indicated moderate and high flood vulnerability levels respectively. At the Local Government Areas (LGAs) level, the low vulnerability covers 932.27 km2 which represented 13.48% of the entire LGAs in Akwa Ibom State, the medium vulnerability covers a spatial extent of 3411.37 km2 which represented 49.33% of the entire state while the high vulnerability covers a spatial extent of 2572.09 km2 which represented 37.19% of the LGAs in the state. The outcome further revealed that Two (2) LGAs are found within the low vulnerability, nineteen (19) LGAs are found within the medium vulnerability while ten (10) LGAs are found within the high vulnerability. At the community level, the analysis indicated that among the 795 communities in the state, 138 of the communities which represent 17.36% of the entire communities have low vulnerability to flood hazards, 429 communities at 53.96% have medium vulnerability level while 228 communities which represent 28.68% of the entire communities in the state have high flood vulnerability level. The generated maps and identified LGAs and communities at different flood vulnerability zones are useful in all steps of disaster management (prevention, mitigation, preparedness, operations, relief and recovery) and should be considered during initial planning.

Management of Information and Communication Technology for Earthquake Disaster Management in Jayapura City

This study aims to analyze ICT management in the earthquake disaster in Jayapura Regency. This study uses a qualitative descriptive design. Sources of data come from secondary sources, which include books, journals, online news, and various documents according to the research theme. Based on research results, comprehensive and clear handling of natural disasters has been regulated in Article 5 of Chapter 3 of Law 24/2007 concerning disasters. In ICT management, Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB) and Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah (BPBD) use official websites as information channels. Regarding disaster management information and communication systems, BNPB and BPBD themselves have a Disaster Management Operations Control Center, hereinafter abbreviated as Pusdalops PB. The people of Jayapura City mostly access information independently through social media.

Disaster Management and Relief Operations in Volatile Environments: A Journalistic Survey of the Niger Delta Region (Perspective)

Disasters have been described as sudden and unpleasant experience which are rather inevitable to man's existence. Hence, the need to understand the dynamics of disaster management and relief operations is timely considering the massive destruction of lives, properties and infrastructures occasioned by covid'19 pandemic as well as the 2022 flood disaster. This study therefore, examines disaster management and relief operations in volatile environments , the Niger Delta region perspective and the objectives are, to understand the dynamics of disaster management and relief operations, to understand the skills or techniques in managing disasters and relief operations and to create public awareness on the essence of knowing the basic tips of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery on disaster management. The paper is considered sequentially as follows; introduction, concept of disaster management, components of disaster management, relief operations techniques and conclusion. This research work will further enhance public sensitization and understanding the dynamics of disaster management. It will serve as a guide to governments and other stakeholders in formulating policies and programmes on disaster management and relief operations in Nigeria.

Decision Making In Disaster Management Operations: Challenges and Opportunities

Decision Making In Disaster Management Operations: Challenges and Opportunities

A South African disaster legislative perspective of information management and communication systems

Background: Establishing a disaster information management and communication system (IMCS) is a mandate of the South African National Disaster Management Framework of 2005 (NDMF). The inception of such systems is supposed to be at the initial set-up of disaster management centres. The comprehensive functioning of a disaster centre will require an interoperable system that can collect, process, store and disseminate data. The lack of such a system might result in poor disaster risk reduction (DRR) and ineffective response.Objective: This article identified and described IMCSs from the South African disaster policy perspective.Methods: Qualitative in-depth interviews were used to investigate the status quo of all nine provincial disaster management centres (PDMCs) regarding the existence, functioning and understanding of IMCSs. The NDMF informed the interview questions administered to 29 purposively selected participants. Themes from descriptions by informants were used to analyse the data.Results: All the centres operating for more than 10 years lack integrated IMCSs. The disaster managers perceive IMCSs as more information technology, computers and other physical devices and less human input systems and governance capabilities. The lack of integrated and well-governed disaster information and communication affects disaster management operations and service delivery mandate.Conclusion: To date, no studies have explored the establishment and management of interoperable IMCSs in disaster management centres. Therefore, this study contributes to the literature on disaster information and communication discourse and practical contributions to improve the capacity of PDMCs. This article provides insight into the significance of IMCS for building resilient communities and recommendations for establishing and maintaining the systems.

Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) Applications in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Malaysia

In a world today, that is highly dependent on information technologies, Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) has become one of advancement in spatial technologies that had been used to tackle the issue of an uncertain world. Primarily functioned with specialized capabilities in manipulating, analysing, and visualizing the massive data from multiagency, has opened new avenues for these technologies to be adopted in disaster management. Taking this into consideration, it leads to achieving disaster management objectives in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) which to reduce or minimize the exposure to hazards, lessened vulnerability of people and property, wise emergency preparation, and enhanced preparedness for an unfavourable situation. This paper aims to make a systematic review of literature in highlighting the significant potential of the GIS and remote sensing, integrating the aspect relevant to disasters socially and physically that helps in forming a comprehensive disaster management operation to reduce the vulnerability and strengthen the resilience to disaster. Accordingly, the paper has presented the outcomes and review of several researchers concerning the implementation of GIS and remote sensing in disaster management, specifically on disaster risk reduction.

Synergy of TNI and BNPB in Management Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster in Palu Indonesia

In 2018, a natural disaster occurred in Palu, Central Sulawesi which caused losses both in the number of victims and damage to infrastructure. Natural disasters that occurred in the city of Palu occurred in three types of disasters, namely, earthquakes, tsunamis and liquefaction. The TNI as a form of implementing OMSP TNI, is responsible for being involved in disaster management efforts, together with BNPB. One of the implementing elements of the TNI in carrying out natural disaster management operations is the PRCPB TNI. However, there are still several things that need to be optimized and coordinated from the synergy between the two institutions, namely optimizing the synergy with other ministries/agencies and agencies, the composition of the troops, and the limited facilities and infrastructure. The theory used in analyzing these problems is the theory of synergy, theory of disaster management, role theory, theory of state defense and theory of TNI involvement in Disaster Management. With descriptive qualitative research method, research data were collected through in-depth interviews and documentation studies. Based on the results of the study, the disaster that hit Palu city and several other areas of Central Sulawesi showed that local government authorities also did not fully understand the flow and procedures for dealing with disasters quickly. When a disaster occurs, both the government and the community are not prepared. The government through the BNBP, BPBD, and TNI sent aid personnel in the context of disaster management in Palu City in 2018. In particular, the TNI through PRCPB, several units have sent troops to carry out humanitarian missions according to the mandate of Law Number 3 of 2002 concerning National Defense and Law Number 34 of 2004 about the Indonesian National Army. The synergy between the TNI and various parties from BNPB, BPBD, and the Regional Government in Palu City is going well. However, overlapping tasks in the field, sectoral egos still often occur. The synergy model between the TNI and BNPB is to establish a disaster center so that gaps and problems of command, cooperation, communication and coordination and other problems can be overcome.

N Epidemiological Study Post Cyclone Fani: An Insight of Our Disaster Risk Reduction and Relief Services

Introduction: Every year cyclones hit India, impacting the population living along the coastline, the infrastructure, and inland areas within India. Multiple bodies of evidence suggest that cyclonic storms disrupt regular health systems depending on the category of the storm. The cascading risks emerging from such disasters present a more complex risk scenario for sustainable development.Methodology: A cross-sectional study on 370 cyclone victims from May 23, 2019 to May 27, 2019 using purposive sampling was carried out at 12 medical relief centres. SPSS version 22 was used to analyse the data.Results: Of the total 370 participants, majority (216, 58.4%) belonged to the age group of 35-64 years, and 200 (54.1%) victims were women. Majority (290, 78.4%) were married and 240 (64.9%) belonged to families with more than four family members.336 (90.8%) participants reported to the medical camp with disease-related signs and symptoms post-disaster while 34 (9.2%) sought medical services for injuries alone.266 (71.9%) victims reported receiving early warning signals regarding the storm through media (radio/ TV/ newspapers/ cell phones), while 104 (28.1%) received the information through neighbours and friends.Conclusion: A social determinant of health approach from a risk reduction perspective needs to be nurtured while providing rescue, relief, and rehabilitation in disaster management operations. This has scope to additionally factor in extreme weather events and public health consequences that will further aggravate in coming years.

Trust-Based Security: Advancement towards Protection of the Adhoc Network

MANET (mobile ad hoc network) is a collection of mobile nodes that interact without the need for a fixed physical foundation. MANETs have grown in popularity as a result of characteristics like dynamic topology, quick setup, multi-hop data transfer, and so on. MANETs are well-suited to various real-time applications, including environmental monitoring, disaster management, and covert and military operations, because of their distinguishing characteristics. MANETs may also be used in conjunction with new technologies like cloud computing, IoT, and machine learning algorithms to help realize the vision of Industry 4.0. Secure and reliable data transfer is essential for any MANET-based sensitive real-time applications that must achieve the requisite QoS. It is challenging to provide safe and efficient data transfer with MANET. As a result, this article examines different Trust-based Approaches that take a step forward in providing secure transmission while simultaneously improving MANET performance. Furthermore, the study's analysis based on many aspects exposes the inadequacies of existing techniques and provides future directions for improvement.

Covid-19 Decision Making Intelligence during Disasters Management

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads from China to neighbouring areas and beyond, increased national and international efforts are underway to contain the epidemic. Humanity is increasingly confronted with a diverse array of man-made and natural disasters. While emergency circumstances cannot be avoided, they may be managed more efficiently. Effective emergency management requires thorough planning, informed reaction, and well-coordinated actions throughout the emergency management life cycle. According to the literature, data-driven emergency management information systems that are well-integrated help in disaster management operations. Recent advances in molecular and computational techniques, as well as in information and communication technologies (ICTs), artificial intelligence (AI), and Big Data, can assist in managing the massive, unprecedented amount of data generated by public health surveillance, real-time epidemic outbreak monitoring, trend nowcasting/forecasting, routine situation briefing and updating from governmental institutions and organisms, and health facility utilisation. This study could be tailored to assist organisations in adapting to their new normal.

A resource management survey for mission-critical and time-critical applications in multiaccess edge computing

Multiaccess Edge Computing (MEC) brings additional computing power in proximity of mobile users, reducing latency, saving energy and alleviating the network's bandwidth. This proximity is beneficial, especially for mission-critical applications where each second matters, such as disaster management or military operations. Moreover, it enables MEC resources embedded on mobile units like drones or robots that are flexible to be deployed for mission-critical applications. However, the MEC servers are capacity-limited and thus need an acute management of their resources. The mobile resources also need a smart deployment scheme to deliver their services efficiently. In this survey, we review mission-critical applications, resource allocation and deployment of mobile resources techniques in the context of the MEC. First, we introduce the technical specifics and uses of MEC in mission-critical applications to highlight their needs and requirements. Then, we discuss the resource allocation schemes for MEC and assess their fit depending on the application needs. In the same fashion, we finally review the deployment of MEC mobile resources. We believe this work could serve as a helping hand to design efficient MEC resource management schemes that respond to challenging environments such as mission-critical applications.

RETRACTED: Fractional order adaptive robust formation control of multiple quad-rotor UAVs with parametric uncertainties and wind disturbances

In recent times, multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are being widely utilized in several areas of applications such as agriculture, surveillance, disaster management, search and rescue operations. Degree of robustness of applied control schemes determines how accurate a swarm of UAVs accomplish group tasks. Formation and trajectory tracking controllers are required for the swarm of multiple UAVs. Factors like external environmental effects, parametric uncertainties and wind gusts make the controller design process as a challenging task. This article proposes fractional order formation and trajectory tacking controllers for multiple quad-rotors using Super Twisting Sliding Mode Control (STSMC) technique. To compensate the effects of the disturbances due to parametric uncertainties and wind gusts, Lyapunov function based adaptive controllers are formulated. Moreover, Lyapunov theorem is used to guarantee the stability of the proposed controllers. Three types of controllers, namely fixed gain STSMC and fractional order Adaptive Super Twisting Sliding Mode Control (ASTSMC) methods are tested for the swarm of UAVs by performing the numerical simulations in MATLAB/Simulink environment. From the presented results, it is verified that in presence of wind disturbances and parametric uncertainties, the proposed fractional order ASTSMC technique showed improved robustness as compared to the fixed gain STSMC and integer order ASTSMC.

Personnel needs assessment in times of crisis: a focus on management of disasters

Purpose This study aims to explain the importance of human resources and attempts to identify the competencies required by the personnel involved in disaster management operations. Design/methodology/approach The research uses a qualitative methodology to explore the competencies required by the relief workers using a content analysis approach to analyze the disaster literature and the job advertisements. The data for the content analysis was developed with the help of 23 independent coders, and exploratory inferences were drawn. Findings A detailed review of the literature highlighted the importance of competent personnel in disaster relief organizations. The analysis listed 34 mutually exclusive competencies and their relative importance, which were further divided into four competency clusters. The study also creates a competency dictionary that defines the competencies with the expected behaviors. Practical implications Deploying the right resources in the acute time frame during a disaster event can make a difference, and with lives at stake, such deployment acquires prime importance. In addition to contributing to humanitarian logistics literature, the competency model developed will also help forecast the future requirements and help the organization choose “the right person for the right job.” Originality/value The inferences drawn in the study are based on disaster management areas, unlike earlier research which also considered business logistics research.