Disaster management in the digital age

The United States is one of the most natural disaster-prone countries in the world. Since 1980, there have been 246 weather and climate disasters exceeding $1.6 trillion in remediation. Within the last decade, the frequency of disaster events and their costs are on the rise. Complicating the impact of natural disasters is the population shift to cities and coastal areas, which concentrate their effects. The need for governments and communities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters is greater than ever before. Disaster management is a big data problem that requires a public private partnership solution. Technology is the connection that can link end-to-end capabilities across multiple organizations for disaster management in the digital age. But how can technologies like cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), and predictive analytics be leveraged across all aspects of the disaster management life cycle? This article briefly addresses these questions and more. Two case studies and technology spotlights are used to reinforce discussion around traditional and new approaches to the management of natural disasters.