Consideration on Utilization of Information in Disaster Response Site – Based on Information Support for 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes –

Abstract

In order to efficiently gather and effectively utilize information fragments collected in the initial stage of disaster response, those who utilize shared information need to determinate which information to gather and conduct appropriate processing as necessary. On the occasion of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED) sent a resident researcher to the Kumamoto Prefectural Office the following day to implement disaster information support that included organizing various pieces of disaster information collected via telephone, fax, and the like on a WebGIS to generate an information map that was then provided to bodies that carry out disaster response. In light of this series of disaster information support activities, this article analyzes the necessary requirements for utilizing disaster information at a disaster response site; in other words, it addresses a problem with the effective utilization of a large amount of shared information in conducting disaster response activities. As a result, an outline of the information items that are necessary for utilization of disaster information has become clear. This provides a suggestion for the conception of a system for each disaster response body to utilize disaster information for carrying out activities at the disaster site.