National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction held a one-day forum today, which Open Data and Big Data are being emphasized in giving timely disasters information.

Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) is the international disastersa alterting standard. Two international experts, Dr. Norio Maki and Mr. Gisli Olafsson shared their opinions at the forum, hoping to establish a smart disasters prevention society here in Taiwan.

Dr. Norio Maki, who is a Professor at Disaster Prevention Research Institute of Kyoto University said “We have learned from the data from disasters such a ground motion, building damage, and human casualties. Those lessons have been used for developing a safer society, or disaster management.”

“In Japan, we have developed a comprehensive and thick data archive every after big disasters. After the 1923 Kanto earthquake, Shinsai Yobou Chosakai published six volume of report telling about seismicity, building damage, and fire. Kobe earthquake in 1995 was a kind of turning point about the data archiving, especially about a data format. Data formatted became a digital, and GIS was used for data archiving.” Dr. Norio Maki added.

However, Dr. Norio Maki stated that the impact of the 2011 Tohoku disaster data is much bigger than that about the Kobe. “Big Data became a key word about Tohoku disaster. Up until the Tohoku, a unit of data about disaster data archiving was a building, but about Tohoku disaster, a

behavior of individual person was collected. And now we can use the behavior of individual persons about disaster research, and so that we can compile the behavior of individual person on disaster management.”

Mr. Gisli Olafsson, a Emergency Response Director of NetHope stated that smart use of technology is disrupting the way we prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. “Ever increasing computing power allows for more complex prediction and forecasting to be done, enabling better early warning systems to be developed.”

“Human and electronic sensors are now able to provide disaster managers with information about the situation on the ground in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Explosive growth in mobile phone ownership also enables citizens to become active participants in the disaster response process instead of being simply receivers of assistance.” said Mr. Gisli Olafsson.

Last but not least, Mr. Gisli Olafsson suggested that social networks and mobile platforms allow communities to coordinate their own response and recovery effort, often faster and more efficient than the government.