Effective Disaster Management Research Articles

Interactions between disaster risk reduction and intangible culture among indigenous communities in Benguet, Philippines

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH), are the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills in society, handed down from generation to generation. They are of growing interest in disaster discourse, due to their various contributions to community preparedness and response, including the improvement of early warning systems and mobilisation of resources and logistics. Previous research has provided evidence on how ICH contributes to disaster risk reduction in various contexts but is often concentrated among popular cultural heritage, particularly those inscribed by the UNESCO. ICH such as local knowledge, practices, innovations, and rituals outside of this authorised cultural heritage, such as those belonging to indigenous communities, are less well articulated, despite their importance in helping build effective disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM). This research examined how ICH, particularly indigenous knowledge, practices, technologies, and rituals have helped communities in Benguet, Northern Philippines for generations to build coping strategies to better respond to the risks of typhoons and other extreme events. Adopting a qualitative mixed-methods approach with an ethnographic orientation, data was gathered using storytelling, semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, and document review. Respondents included elders for the storytelling, households for the semi-structured interview, and officers of the local authorities for the key informant interviews. The key findings of this study highlighted that several areas of local knowledge, practices, and systems focused on social support systems, cultural technologies and innovations, local rituals, and indigenous early warning systems that are present within the Benguet community, all of which are essential in strengthening DRRM at the local level. This intangible heritage has been fundamental in helping facilitate careful planning and adjustments in local activities, catalysing preemptive measures against foreseeable risks. As such, greater effort should be made by the State to increase mainstreaming of these ICH and the participation of indigenous people in the planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction intervention.

Study on the Characteristics of Strata Movement and Surface Subsidence Induced by Multiseam Mining

Multiseam mining generates enhanced characteristics of strata movement and surface subsidence (CSMSS) than single seam mining, which strongly increases the possibility of mine water disasters and surface deformation. In this study, the effect of seam separation distances and key stratum (KS) configurations on CSMSS is evaluated using the discrete-element method. The results of the analyses indicated that control function loss of the KS aggravated the failure of the overlying strata and expanded the original water-flowing fractured zone, which grew by 91.49% and 23.40% in short-distance and medium-distance multiseam mining. In addition, the subsidence was higher in the first two cases and also in the tilts and strains. The separation and penetrating tensile cracks determined the upper boundary of the caved and fractured zones in the discrete-element method simulation analysis supported by field data. Finally, this study provides a method for identifying the multiseam category according to the CSMSS resulting from multiseam mining operations, which is the first step toward effective disaster prevention and management.

Predicting Dust-Storm Transport Pathways Using a Convolutional Neural Network and Geographic Context for Impact Adaptation and Mitigation in Urban Areas

Dust storms are natural disasters that have a serious impact on various aspects of human life and physical infrastructure, particularly in urban areas causing health risks, reducing visibility, impairing the transportation sector, and interfering with communication systems. The ability to predict the movement patterns of dust storms is crucial for effective disaster prevention and management. By understanding how these phenomena travel, it is possible to identify the areas that are most at risk and take appropriate measures to mitigate their impact on urban environments. Deep learning methods have been demonstrated to be efficient tools for predicting moving processes while considering multiple geographic information sources. By developing a convolutional neural network (CNN) method, this study aimed to predict the pathway of dust storms that occur in arid regions in central and southern Asia. A total of 54 dust-storm events were extracted from the modern-era retrospective analysis for research and applications, version 2 (MERRA-2) product to train the CNN model and evaluate the prediction results. In addition to dust-storm data (aerosol optical depth (AOD) data), geographic context information including relative humidity, surface air temperature, surface wind direction, surface skin temperature, and surface wind speed was considered. These features were chosen using the random forest feature importance method and had feature importance values of 0.2, 0.1, 0.06, 0.03, and 0.02, respectively. The results show that the CNN model can promisingly predict the dust-transport pathway, such that for the 6, 12, 18, and 24-h time steps, the overall accuracy values were 0.9746, 0.975, 0.9751, and 0.9699, respectively; the F1 score values were 0.7497, 0.7525, 0.7476, and 0.6769, respectively; and the values of the kappa coefficient were 0.7369, 0.74, 0.7351, and 0.6625, respectively.

Community mobilisation and collaboration through innovative approaches to overcome significant disasters: an analysis of the biggest earthquake in Turkish history

PurposeThis commentary aims to provide an overview of how innovation in community mobilisation and collaboration can help address natural disasters quickly and more effectively. This is done using the example of the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria and caused considerable damage, the full extent of which cannot yet be assessed.Design/methodology/approachThis commentary was prepared by two researchers who collected a number of examples and assessed their contribution to earthquake mitigation.FindingsThis commentary confirms that applying digital technologies and other innovative approaches to disaster management can mobilise people and contribute to more effective disaster management, especially in disasters where every minute counts.Originality/valueThis commentary explains the role of active mobilisation of civil society using digital technologies and other innovative approaches during one of humanity's largest earthquakes. As far as the authors are aware, this issue has not yet been discussed in this way in contemporary literature.

Social Vulnerability Evaluation of Natural Disasters and Its Spatiotemporal Evolution in Zhejiang Province, China

Natural disasters present a significant challenge to the productivity of Zhejiang Province. This paper is the first to evaluate social vulnerability to natural disasters in Zhejiang Province and provides a scientific foundation for disaster prevention, mitigation, and risk management. In this paper, we construct an indicator system for evaluating social vulnerability of natural disasters in Zhejiang Province through demand analysis, frequency analysis, and applicability analysis. The methodology employed in this paper reduces errors arising from subjective indicator selection and provides a reference for future international research on evaluating social vulnerability to natural disasters. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal evolution of social vulnerability to natural disasters in 11 cities from 2011 to 2020. The results indicate an overall downward trend of social vulnerability to natural disasters in Zhejiang. Social vulnerability to natural disasters exhibits significant spatial variability. The evaluation can help to bridge the knowledge gap regarding the social vulnerability of Zhejiang Province to natural disasters. The analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution of social vulnerability provides insights into the contributing factors to vulnerability and the effectiveness of past disaster management strategies. The findings of this study can serve as a valuable reference for future research in Zhejiang Province and other regions facing similar challenges. The results can contribute to the advancement of comprehensive knowledge of social vulnerability to natural disasters, which can inform the development of policies and strategies aimed at mitigating disaster risk and promoting effective disaster management globally.

GIS based landslide susceptibility mapping and assessment using weighted overlay method in Wayanad: A part of Western Ghats, Kerala

The objectives of the study are to generate a landslide susceptibility zonation (LSZ) map of Wayanad for effective and efficient disaster management in the future and to determine the various parameters and usefulness of remote sensing and GIS in landslide susceptibility mapping. The topographical factors like slope, elevation, and aspects influencing landslides are derived from the digital elevation model (DEM). The rainfall data were collected from 2011 to 2019 from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and four sampling sites were identified through a field visit. We used Landsat8 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) satellite imagery with a resolution of 30 m to create land use and land cover (LULC) using the unsupervised classification method. It was divided into seven categories based on the annual precipitation of the study area using inverse distance weighting (IDW). The LSZ map was derived using the weighted overlay method by analysing the geographical and climatic factors. These factors helped produce the final LSZ map, which was divided into three zones from high to low. LSZ areas with steep slopes, high elevation, prolonged rainfall, and predominant land use changes. Study reveals that the north-east, south, and south-east regions of the study area are more vulnerable to landslides.

Incorporating First Nations knowledges into disaster management plans: an analysis

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (UNDRR 2015) advocates for incorporating Indigenous knowledges and practices to complement scientific knowledge for effective and inclusive emergency and disaster management. Such traditional and local knowledge is an important contribution to developing strategies, policies and plans tailored to local contexts. A comparative analysis of local disaster management plans in Australia was undertaken as part of a larger project on emergency and disaster management in Indigenous communities and was performed to benchmark against the Sendai Framework priorities. A comprehensive search of publicly available local disaster management plans and subplans in selected local government areas was undertaken. Eighty-two plans were identified as well as 9 subplans from a list of Indigenous communities and associated local government areas. This study found a wide disparity in the organisation, presentation and implementation of knowledges and practices of local communities. While some plans included evidence of engagement and consultation with members of local communities, overall, there was little evidence of knowledges or traditional practices being identified and implemented. This analysis was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–21) and most councils had local pandemic management subplans. However, many were not publicly available and targeted approaches for Indigenous communities were not evident on council websites. To reflect the priorities of the Sendai Framework, better consultation with local communities and leaders at all levels of government needs to occur and subplans need to be easily available for review by policy analysts and academics.

Assessing the Impact of Extensive Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani on the Coastal Communities of Bangladesh: A Case Study

This research article presents a numerical simulation of the extensive severe cyclonic storm Fani and its impact along the coast of Bangladesh, which made landfall in the coastal region of Odisha, India, on May 3, 2019. A semi-implicit finite difference method in Cartesian coordinates was employed in this study to solve vertically integrated shallow water equations. The approach allowed for effective forecasting of the storm Fani's impact on the region of choice. Our considered physical domain is discretized with high-resolution gird to cover all the big and small offshore islands. The model predicted water levels for a total of sixteen coastal stations of the Bay of Bengal along the coast of Bangladesh (from 2 May to 03 May 2019, at 3-h interval). Simulated water levels are found closely co-related to the reported data. The simulation results demonstrate that the semi-implicit finite difference method is an effective tool for simulating the storm surge and flooding caused by any severe cyclonic storm. The study also shows that the storm surge and flooding caused by Fani were significant, with a maximum surge height of over 5 meters in some areas. The simulated results provide insights into the spatial and temporal evolution of the storm surge and flooding, which can be useful for designing and implementing appropriate disaster management strategies in the affected regions. Overall, this research article contributes to the scientific understanding of the behavior of severe cyclonic storms and the associated storm surge and flooding, and provides a valuable tool for policymakers and stakeholders to develop and implement effective disaster management strategies in cyclone vulnerable coastal regions.

The Rationale for Collaborative Approach with Military Involvement to Strengthen Urban Disaster Management Strategy: A Case Study of Malaysia

This article discusses the rationale for a collaborative approach involving military involvement to strengthen Malaysia's urban disaster management strategy. The article highlights the limitations of the existing approach in effectively responding to urban disasters through analysis of available resources. This research found that a collaborative approach with military involvement can offer several advantages, including improved communication and coordination, increased resources and expertise, and enhanced capacity building. However, a few challenges and concerns must be addressed, especially regarding civil liberties. This study underscores the importance of managing and integrating the military's involvement with civilian authorities transparently and responsibly and reviewing the policies governing civil-military coordination in the country's disaster legislation. The article provides a case study of the implementation of this approach during the 2021 floods in Malaysia to discourse on the lesson learnt from the catastrophic event. Overall, the article concludes that a collaborative approach involving military involvement is essential for improving Malaysia's urban disaster management strategy and ensuring effective disaster response and recovery. Ultimately, this research aims to inspire further research and discussion on this topic and contribute to developing more effective disaster management strategies.

｢재난 및 안전관리 기본법｣ 재정립 방안 연구

The Framework Act On the Management Of Disasters And Safety enacted and implemented in 2004 integrated Natural Disasters and Social Accidents into disasters, established a systematic and effective disaster management and safety management system for all social factors that can damage people's lives, bodies, property, and the State. However, despite the steady improvement of the disaster and safety management system, disasters in our society continue to occur. The Framework Act On The Management Of Disasters And Safety, which consisted of 81 articles at the time of enactment, increased to 149 articles as of 2022, and more than 40 revised legislation on disaster management administration such as organization, planning, and authority, but It happened a disaster massive casualties in the Itaewon on October 29, 2022. The 21st National Assembly also supplemented the Framework Act On The Management Of Disasters And Safety after the disaster, but the law is already complicated and difficult to understand due to frequent revisions, impeding the predictability of the law and making it difficult to achieve The Rule of Law Principle in Korean administrative law. In addition, It is necessary to establish relations between individual laws such as already enacted the Disaster Safety Communication Network Act and the Disaster Safety Industry Promotion and such as discussing the Framework Act on Safety and the Disaster Management Resources Act. Therefore, this study aims to secure public safety rights by analyzing problems in terms of the Framework Act On The Management Of Disasters And Safety and the system of related laws, securing predictability of laws, and proposing a plan to re-establish the Framework Act On The Management Of Disasters And Safety.

Community-Based Disaster Health Management Approaches: A Systematic Literature Review

Background: Community-based interventions can be effective due to the active participations of communities in pre- and post-disaster planning and management. Effective community-based disaster management for health promotion can be achieved by learning from the successful local and international experiences of community participations. Thus, this study is aimed to identify the community active participation approaches which were effective in promoting the health of disaster-affected communities.
 Methods: This systematic review was conducted and reported based on PRISMA guideline. Web of Sciences, PubMed and Scopus were searched using the selected keywords. The inclusion criteria were all forms of published articles which studied the approaches of community active participations for improving their health in disasters. The selection of articles was conducted using the titles and abstracts. Data analysis was done based on the categorization of different community-based disaster management approaches.
 Results: 10 articles were finally selected out of 2843 documents generated by initial search. Asian countries considered community involvements in disaster management the most (40%). The most community active participations in disaster management were conducted in the recovery phase (80%). Approaches of community-based disaster management for the health promotion were two-way university-community participation, focusing on empowering specific community groups, governance, and localizing community participation as well as strengthening social networks.
 Conclusion: Considering the capacities of academic institutions for active participation in community-based disaster management according to the Yokohama, Hyogo and Sendai Framework is highly suggested. Further research is needed to explore the challenges of community communication and information in disasters.

Exploring Italian healthcare facilities response to COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned from the Italian Response to COVID-19 initiative.

The COVID-19 pandemic exerted an extraordinary pressure on the Italian healthcare system (Sistema Sanitario Nazionale, SSN), determining an unprecedented health crisis. In this context, a multidisciplinary non-governmental initiative called Italian Response to COVID-19 (IRC-19) was implemented from June 2020 to August 2021 to support the Italian health system through multiple activities aimed to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. The objective of this study was to shed light on the role of NGOs in supporting the SSN during the first pandemic wave by specifically exploring: (1) the main challenges experienced by Italian hospitals and out-of-hospital care facilities and (2) the nature and extent of the IRC-19 interventions specifically implemented to support healthcare facilities, to find out if and how such interventions met healthcare facilities' perceived needs at the beginning of the pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional study using an interviewer administered 32-item questionnaire among 14 Italian healthcare facilities involved in the IRC-19 initiative. Health facilities' main challenges concerned three main areas: healthcare workers, patients, and facilities' structural changes. The IRC-19 initiative contributed to support both hospital and out-of-hospital healthcare facilities by implementing interventions for staff and patients' safety and flow management and interventions focused on the humanization of care. The support from the third sector emerged as an added value that strengthened the Italian response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is in line with the Health-Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (H-EDRM) precepts, that call for a multisectoral and multidisciplinary collaboration for an effective disaster management.

Introduction of integrated decision support system for flood disaster management

Heavy precipitation events and fluvial flood can cause serious damage to property and fatality, and thus flood disaster management is essential to lower the risk, to prevent and to mitigate the crisis. Effective and efficient flood disaster management requires on-site information, forecast and appropriate corresponding response strategies and measures. Therefore, a concept of integrated decision support system (DSS) for flood disaster management is proposed and discussed in this paper. The DSS integrates observation, rainfall forecast, fast flood simulation, historical events and crisis scenarios, and response strategies and measures, by means of information and communication technology (ICT) and internet of things (IoT). The DSS can provide relevant information and offer suggestions of action before and during the crisis. The DSS can also be utilised for disaster drill, education, and demonstration with the help of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) or Metaverse technology. The aims of this DSS are to improve existing response strategies and emergency services, to enhance the community-based disaster risk management, and to raise public crisis awareness.

What's new in academic international medicine? The importance of effective disaster management

What's new in academic international medicine? The importance of effective disaster management

Using Recommendation Systems in Disaster Management: A Systematic Literature Review

As obvious, disasters cause widespread human, economic, and environmental losses throughout the world. Both natural and man-made disasters require an effective disaster management system to curtail their potential damage and ensure prompt response to affected communities. The widespread adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in this field has facilitated information exchange, situational awareness, and communication among various stakeholders. Within ICT, the recommendation system has been widely used to help decision makers take critical and effective decisions. In this review, we aim to unravel how recommendation systems (RS) have been used in the disaster management domain. To this end, a systematic literature review (SLR) was performed, resulting in a data set of 44 papers dealing with this topic. Selected studies were evaluated to provide an answer to five different research questions. We considered what are the most common recommendation approaches adopted in these studies, the input and output of the recommendation system, the disaster management phase involved, and the contribution of the study in the field. The results of this review present a starting point for further research in this area.

Level of Student Disaster Risk Reduction Awareness in Public Secondary Schools in Kisumu County, Kenya

The recurring, widespread and sudden nature of fire and floods disasters pose high degree of risks frequently in secondary schools. However, the capacity of the affected secondary schools is limited due to paucity of student’s disaster risk reduction awareness. The study endeavoured to assess the level of student disaster risk reduction awareness in secondary schools in Kisumu County. The study grounded on Planned Behaviour and Disaster Preparedness theory while adopting a descriptive research design. A sample size of 86 out of 172 public secondary schools was used. All principals from sampled schools were selected. Also, 172 students comprising of 2 student leaders, one Head of Department from each selected schools were sampled totalling to 86, and 4 ministry of education officials from Kenya School of Curriculum Development were purposively sampled. Data was collected using questionnaires and observation schedule. Qualitative data collected was put under themes consistent with the research objective. Quantitative data was coded and entered in the computer for analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, means and frequencies were used to analyse the data. The study revealed that there was no disaster risk reduction and resilience in current curricula in secondary school. Students lacked capacity to respond to disasters in secondary schools in Kisumu County since they lacked disaster management training. The study recommends formulation of effective and practical disaster syllabi, alongside specialized training for teachers who would be delivering DRR education which builds on students’ existing knowledge and experience by developing additional competencies needed for effective disaster management. Rehearsal drills in disaster preparedness must be done in secondary schools by students since it re-emphases points made in separate training programs and test the systems as a whole and invariably revealing several gaps that otherwise might have been overlooked.

IoT Based Arduino-Powered Weather Monitoring System

Internet of Things (IoT) and Arduino-based Weather Monitoring System is a groundbreaking technology that has revolutionized the way we gather, examine, and utilize weather data. There is potential with this system to greatly improve our comprehension of weather patterns and offer valuable insights for various industries such as aviation, agriculture, and disaster management. One of the main advantages of this system is its ability to provide real-time data. Conventional weather monitoring systems gather data by hand, which is time-consuming and prone to errors. The IoT-based system, on the other hand, provides accurate and up-to-date information, allowing for better decision-making and planning. The system is also cost-effective compared to traditional weather monitoring methods. The use of low-cost sensors and the elimination of manual data collection reduce the overall cost of the system. This makes it accessible to a wider range of users, including small-scale farmers and local governments. There are several uses for the data that the Internet of Things-based Weather Monitoring System gathers. For example, farmers can use the information to make informed decisions about crop irrigation and pest control. Aviation and shipping industries can use the data to plan safe and efficient routes, while disaster management agencies can use it to prepare for extreme weather events. In addition to its practical applications, this system also has the potential to contribute to scientific research. The vast amount of data collected by the sensors can be used to study weather patterns and climate change. This can help scientists better understand and predict natural disasters, leading to more effective disaster management strategies. However, like any other technology, the IoT-based Weather Monitoring System also has its limitations. One of the main concerns is data security. As the system relies on wireless communication, there is a risk of data being intercepted or manipulated by unauthorized individuals. Proper security measures need to be implemented to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the data. Another challenge is the maintenance and calibration of the sensors. As these sensors are constantly exposed to harsh weather conditions, they may require regular maintenance and calibration to ensure accurate data collection. This can be a costly and time-consuming process, especially for large-scale weather monitoring systems.

CRITICALITY OF SUSTAINABLE DISASTER MANAGEMENT THROUGH COMMUNICATION, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The sustainability development process is crucial towards the management of disasters. This study describes the criticality of communication, situational awareness and resource management as part of an effective disaster management process during response and early recovery in minimizing the impact of disasters and their losses. Being part of a larger research, the study utilizes a validated and published checklist to observe lead responding agencies and is validated via three validation approaches involving exercise logs by the exercise controller, lead agency officers at the site, and final emergency exercise reports. Results are also reinforced with a survey questionnaire towards lead responding agency decision-makers during disasters. Both methods allow the researcher to differentiate between the respondent's real-time response and the intended outcome. It is found that the enhancement of institutional capacities of nations' emergency responders can significantly improve and ensure sustainability in managing disasters through effective emergency management elements of communication, situational awareness and resource management. Hence, it is agreed that emergency responders should adopt a system-thinking approach and computer-aided decision support system for the management of emergencies and disasters. Keywords: Emergency Responder, Disaster Management, Situational Awareness, Resource Management, Communication Management DOI： https://doi.org/10.35741/issn.0258-2724.58.2.70

Area Estimation of Forest Fires using TabNet with Transformers

In this paper, we propose a novel approach for estimating the burned area of forest fires using the TabNet transformer-based architecture. Forest fires pose a significant threat to ecosystems, and accurate estimation of the affected area is essential for effective disaster management and resource allocation. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of various Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) methods, including Random Forest, Neural Networks, Neural Architecture Search (NAS), TabNet with Transformers, and Self-Supervised Learning with Autoencoders, to identify the most accurate and efficient model for area estimation. Our experiments employed a publicly available dataset, UCI Forest Fires, containing a combination of meteorological, geospatial, and categorical data. We implemented a thorough preprocessing pipeline that included handling categorical variables, standardization, and feature engineering. The results demonstrate that TabNet outperforms other methods, achieving state-of-the-art accuracy and generalization in predicting the target variable with a Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 2319 in training and 7781 in testing.

SOME ASPECTS OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION OF IMERETI

The Covid pandemic and hostilities developed in the post-Soviet space had a heavy impact on the world economy, sharply slowing economic growth and increasing socio-economic problems. The impact of current events has become a significant topic in terms of regional economies. The rather rich experience accumulated in the world has shown us that the management and development of the region should be based on the economic potential of a particular country, the historical past of economic and political life, cultural and natural-resource characteristics, which are the result of historical preconditions. From this point of view, Georgia is quite diverse and interesting country. This diversity and the rules and traditions of economic life formed on the basis of sharply different natural-economic conditions create the inequality of the state and trends of the development and competitiveness of the territorial-administrative units (parties) of the country. Our attention was drawn to the fact that the Imereti region is distinguished by low incomes of the population, high rates of migration processes and aging and, accordingly, high dependence on social assistance. Imereti region is located in the central part of Georgia, it is one of the most beautiful places. It occupies 9.4% of the territory of Georgia and unites 12 municipalities. Rather important positive factors of the region are: proximity to seaports and international airports, location on energy and automobile corridors, a high level of urbanization, a variety of minerals, favorable environmental conditions for the development of crops, various types of tourist and recreational resources. The real result is that today the actual weakness of Imereti region is the high level of unemployment and poverty. Less developed municipal services, commercial and business infrastructure, low level of professional development and qualification of the workforce, absence of effective natural disaster management system, limited rights of regional and local administrative structures, meager income and property resources. It is a fact that the region cannot effectively use the existing resources for the purpose of development. In order to strengthen agriculture and increase labor productivity, first of all small-land farms should be enlarged, which will contribute to the technical rearmament of the sector and the intensification of production. It is a sad reality that Imereti is considered a region significantly dependent on social assistance. Not only the unemployed, but also the majority of employed people are socially vulnerable, because the payment is quite low. A similar situation is a problem not only in Imereti, but in the entire country. The post-pandemic period is characterized by price increases and unstable inflationary processes, the influence of both internal and external factors is great. Revealing the low standard of living and poverty should not become the main goal. There is constant talk about identifying the problem, revealing it, its percentage increase or decrease. Nominal indicators without deep analysis are quite far from the real situation. The main and important thing is not only to determine the causes, but also to fight against them and eliminate them in time. Enumeration and statistics workers and their economic-statistical studies should make a significant contribution to the assessment of the existing situation in the region and its further improvement. The real socio-economic situation of the region should be reflected (and not in numbers artificially beautified to please ourselves), only by revealing the reality and seeing the existing weak points correctly, we will be able to improve the economy of both the region and the country and achieve the desired results. It is on the basis of real data that the further development strategy of the region, new projects and programs should be developed. Recently, they often mention the "decent salary", which probably a significant part of the employed people in Georgia will not have in the near future. In this regard, the minimum wage and the size of the consumer basket need to be reconsidered once again. In order to provide normal wages to the employees, the government should adopt a law on minimum wages. When it comes to European integration, among many other issues, the most important and necessary issue is the review of the population's incomes and living standards, and bringing them closer to the European countries should be the main goal.