Cities are looking to modernize their disaster response capabilities, as extreme events become more common. “We’ve had four of what they call 500-year events in 20 years. Each time we’re reinventing the process for recovery, reinventing the process for solutions going forward, and we’re not using either historical information or maintaining an accurate record of the current conditions in order to make the best decisions about how we invest,” Tom Bacon, chairman of the Houston Parks board, told Fast Company. “That’s simply because the ability of static databases to understand these fast-changing cities is so limited.” Similar issues have been noted with earthquakes, where cities are often reliant on things like shake maps, which provide the magnitude and epicenter, but lack information on the nature and extent of damage.
To assist in this modernization, startup One Concern is launching a platform that relies on machine learning to assist cities with disaster response. Founded by Ahmad Wani, in response to an experience which left him and his family stranded for a week after a catastrophic flood, the startup looks to generate specialized maps to assist in deployment of emergency crews. The tool, according to Fast Company, uses real-time data on the movement of floodwaters, paired with demographic data, to identify areas where help is most urgently needed. As testing and development continues, the tool could also assist in determining things like shelter locations, or anticipate areas in need of evacuation. They also offer a tool called Seismic Concern, which seeks to predict damage caused to buildings by earthquakes at a block level as soon as 15 minutes after an earthquake, and has been adapted by cities including San Francisco and Los Angeles, to supplement their other emergency preparedness activities.
Other companies have also entered the space with machine learning solutions:
Geospiza creates action plans for cities using a map-based interface to assist in responding to a variety of disasters.
Field Innovation Team deploys machine learning to predict the needs of those in shelters post-disaster.
Microsoft has announced funding of AI technology targeted to disaster response.
Source:
https://www.fastcompany.com/90232955/disaster-relief-is-dangerously-broken-can-ai-fix-it
