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nDisaster response- A case study of Haiti

nCatastrophes, emergencies and disasters all signify sudden events that impact negative consequences in a society. Some events may be disasters; others may be emergencies while others may be catastrophes depending on the magnitude of the event. Typically, catastrophes are of a much bigger magnitude than disasters and emergencies (Wex, et, al, 2). Disasters are of less magnitude than catastrophes but are much greater than emergencies. Disasters are events that are atypical and they cause extensive damage, change, disruption and lots of casualties to already vulnerable communities (Wex, et, al, 4). E-infrastructure and technological applications are necessary for responding to large scale global disasters where the infrastructure has been obliterated.

nDisasters leave communities with very little capacity to operate normally without any assistance from external sources. Emergencies such as house fires and road accidents are more common and when they occur they can be handled by local special agencies (Wex, et, al, 15). Disasters on the other hand cannot be easily predicted as they are sudden and in light of their occurrence response is by international organisations. Emergency/disaster response refers to the coordinating, organizing and directing of the available resources during a disaster in order to respond and bring the disaster/emergency under control (Wex, et, al, 20).

nAdditionally, emergency response aims to bring back sanity of the situation and to protect the health of the public by curtailing the negative impact of the disaster on the environment and community. With the multiple massive earthquakes, tropical storms and hurricanes Haiti has been/is very vulnerable making the stages of recovery very difficult with each occurrence of a disaster. Participatory approaches regarding disaster recovery and relief are very important (Wex, et, al, 27). Infrastructure damage in the Haiti seriously hampered relief and response. Haiti is a country of very poor economic status in the America region with a large number of the population living under a dollar a day (Margesson, et, al, 17).

nInfrastructure encompasses the simple physical systems a nation or business has; the systems include communication, transportation, sewage, electric and water systems. The systems are high cost but are significant for a nations economic prosperity and development. Telecommunication plays a crucial role in the well-being and health of a society (Wex, et, al, 32). The loss of telecommunication during disasters impedes communication between government, donors, business and individuals. When mediums of telecommunication such as cellular and standard phones, copper, fibre, wireless transmission and computers are destroyed, management and monitoring systems that mitigate disasters are severely affected (Wex, et, al, 32).

nAll disasters categorically cause a breakdown in essential communication networks. Failure of the telecommunications infrastructure causes errors and delays in disaster relief and emergency response efforts often leading to preventable property damage and loss of lives (Margesson, et, al, 45). The risk linked to telecommunication failure persists despite the growing resilience and reliability of communication tools during emergency operations. Prior to the earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010, the countrys airports, highways, roads and ports were already strained from previously occurring natural disasters, coupled with years and years of corruption and poverty (Margesson, et, al, 47).

nThe earthquake in 2010 almost caused a total collapse of the already fragile government system. Roads were extremely blocked, ports were rigorously damaged and the whole state was in utter ruins. Toussaint LOuverture International Airport was severely damaged hence flights to and from the country almost became impossible (Margesson, et, al, 56). With the bridges, roads, ports, buildings and railroads damaged and destroyed and more than 3 million people missing or dead the earthquake affected many zones in Haiti which has a very large population. The alleyways and narrow streets in Haiti were piled with debris and rubble that made the mission of rescue and search teams very difficult (Margesson, et, al, 57).

nThe earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0 and it struck a mile less near the coast of Port-au-Prince which is the capital city of Haiti. The earthquake that struck in January 2010 is among the largest sudden emergency that has ever occurred in the Western hemisphere and it so happened to strike the poorest countries (Patrick, 49). The earthquake caused damage to the houses that were poorly constructed and treasured government buildings. A chasm was created between the knowledge the global humanitarian community were aware before the onset of the earthquake and the actual reality they faced in the earthquakes aftermath (Patrick, 50).

nThe lives of thousands of individuals were at risk and local resources were exhausted and crippled owing to the breakdown of infrastructure. Government leaders were unable to communicate and determine their priority in terms of needs because the magnitude of needs was too much from water, food, shelter, medicine etc. (Margesson, et, al, 47).The resources needed were to arrive within hours in extraordinary amounts irrespective of the infrastructural difficulties presented to ensure no spread of disease and food and water is distributed so there are no fatality cases. As a result of the obliterated infrastructure, rescuers who first tried to respond to the disaster found themselves victims of it. Catastrophic disasters where the infrastructure has been destroyed require a special national response (Patrick, 67).

nE-infrastructure can be used in handling disasters in places where the physical infrastructure has been severely tampered with. E-Infrastructure denotes an interworking and combination of digitally-based resources, technology, communications, organisational structures and people that support international modern research and interventions (Han, et, al, 1128). Several disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti and the most recent hurricane caused extreme destruction to communication infrastructure. Cellular networks were overwhelmed and communication lines were overloaded as various people tried to access information using them. Deployment and use of alternative means for communication is necessary when conventional means fail to work such as in the case for Haiti (Han, et, al, 1130).

nFurthermore, the use of social networks which is a form of e-infrastructure is necessary when physical infrastructure has been severely damaged. Social networks may be used for sharing and gathering of information during emergencies. Social networks include social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (Han, et, al, 1132). There use is integrated into most parts of peoples day to day lives as netizens, citizens, emergency responders or researchers. Social media platforms serve as significant and integral element of emergency response. Communication is among the most essential instruments when managing an emergency (Han, et, al, 1132).

nSocial media delivers opportunities for rescue operations/organizations to engage with citizens actively without having to use roads to reach them. They are able to obtain information from the citizens on their whereabouts and the severity of the disaster across the nation (Han, et, al, 1135). At the same time, they are also able to disseminate important information to citizens on the progress of the rescue operations and recovery. During disaster events, a whole lot of information always circulates round and there is need for validation of the same. Social media platforms give a chance for citizens to validate the information from the government/non-government official pages/accounts (Han, et, al, 1135).

nMoreover, social media has tools that facilitate online and open online interchange of a lot of information through interaction, conversation and exchange of content generated by the user. Unlike conventional ICTs (information and communication technology), social media networks manage the conversation content in the online setting (Han, et, al, 1137). It allows individuals to establish links and connections with other people, who are also in distress, post news, share real time opinions and hold discussions. Up to date information can be posted in social media which may not be accessible through alternative conventional channels (Han, et, al, 1137).

nDuring emergencies, timely and relevant information is necessary as it creates a sense of connectedness which social media provides. Connectivity provides assistance, support and reassurance to distressed populations. The recent disaster that struck Haiti was the hurricane Mathew on October 2016 (Choi, 397).The hurricane destroyed major bridges, roads and other physical facilities such as buildings. Social media users launched a campaign “Pray for Haiti” both on twitter and Facebook to launch for appeal from the international community to respond to the disaster. Lots of donations were made and rescue operations organised by using social media (Choi, 400).

nIn addition to e-infrastructure, technological applications can also be employed when the physical infrastructure has been obliterated. Technological applications can include use of network path diversity. This technological application aims to reduce failure of communication systems during an emergency/disaster (Benson, et, al, 27). This is achieved by creating a system of more than one network connection that uses different physical paths and technology. By using different types of technology and physical paths, the chance of both connections failing at the same time will be minimized. The pathways used should be completely redundant and secure in processing the data so that if one of them fails, information flow is not reduced or interrupted (Benson, et, al, 27).

nAdditionally, another technological application that can be used when the infrastructure has failed is use of ad-hoc network links. Ad-hoc networks are effective in restoring and maintaining communications in hours following the onset of an emergency event (Reina, et, al, 27).The technology allows rapid deployment of connectivity which is fibre-like in situations that are in need of capacity on an accelerated basis. Ad-hoc networks allow both emergency workers and disaster victims to communicate at important instances (Reina, et, al, 27).

nBy use of wireless transport device on mobile platforms such as cellular on light trucks (COLT) and cellular on wheels (COW), network connections are likely to be restored quickly in places where infrastructure has been obliterated (Reina, et, al, 31). In the event of Hurricane Mathew in Haiti that happened in October, various COWs were arrayed for provision of vital phone service to recovery and rescue workers given the countrys cellular networks were destroyed. The technological application allowed responders to effectively organize their focus and efforts in highly devastated areas (Reina, et, al, 32).

nIn summary, disaster/emergency events have very many negative impacts. They cause fatalities and worse still damage infrastructure hampering any rescue and recovery operations. Infrastructure encompasses buildings, telecommunications, roads, bridges, ports, rails etc. Haiti has been a country that has been affected with frequent disasters such as the earthquake in January 2010 and the hurricane Mathew in October 2016. Rescue operations in the country have been greatly affected because of the extensive damage to roads and communication systems. For successful emergency response to such large scale disasters, e-infrastructure and various technological applications are necessary. E-infrastructure helps rescue missions to organize and reach devastated people through social media while technological applications help to secure networks from failing during disasters.

nWorks cited

nBenson, Kyle E., et al. “Resilient Overlays for IoT-Based Community Infrastructure Communications.” 2016 IEEE First International Conference on Internet-of-Things Design and Implementation (IoTDI). IEEE, 2016.

nCHOI, SEONHWA. “The Analysis Technique Of Social Media For Disaster Management.” International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics 11.3 (2016): 396-405.

nHan, Liangxiu, et al. “FireGrid: an e-infrastructure for next-generation emergency response support.” Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing 70.11 (2010): 1128-1141.

nMargesson, Rhoda, and Maureen Taft-Morales. “Haiti earthquake: Crisis and response.” Library of Congress Washington DC Congressional Research Service, 2010.

nPatrick, Jonathan. “Haiti Earthquake Response: Emerging Evaluation Lessons.” Evaluation Insights 1 (2011).

nReina, D. G., et al. “Evaluation of ad hoc networks in disaster scenarios.” Intelligent Networking and Collaborative Systems (INCoS), 2011 Third International Conference on. IEEE, 2011.

nWex, Felix, et al. “Emergency response in natural disaster management: Allocation and scheduling of rescue units.” European Journal of Operational Research 235.3 (2014): 697-708.