In 2005, the Superdome in New Orleans served as a mass shelter and accommodated over 25,000 people during Hurricane Katrina. Those accommodations, though, were inadequate, with limited power, plumbing, and other resources. To avoid a similar scenario, the Mission Ready Venue Initiative enables stadiums to be a resource for immediate assistance following a disaster and to be fully prepared in advance.
During a derecho in May 2024, Texas agencies contacted and conducted wellness checks on residents with disabilities or with functional and access needs. One tool facilitated the process, sharing critical information about registrants to the emergency responders and planners who needed to know.
Despite their critical role in disaster response, public works agencies are not always included in the emergency planning process. To bridge planning gaps, public works should be integrated into emergency response efforts. Key steps can help ensure that these and other agencies can more effectively respond to the next disaster.
From the rise of advanced criminal networks and borderless crimes to the persistent hurdles of limited resources, inadequate training, and outdated tools, law enforcement departments navigate an increasingly demanding landscape. Big data and artificial intelligence can help build and maintain this critical public safety workforce.
AI’s ability to ingest and synthesize data on hazards and vulnerabilities could prove invaluable in addressing one of the biggest long-standing challenges of emergency management: truly engaging the whole community.
The December 2024 edition of the Domestic Preparedness Journal provides insight into the intersection of AI and emergency preparedness. With their exponentially increasing speed of development, existing, emerging, and not-yet-created technologies must all be part of the planning process in 2025 and beyond.
AI can contribute to professional competency and learners’ success while efficiently training emergency management professionals and managing the bottom line.
Recent research into the relationship between AI and emergency management uncovered an environment prepared for AI-based solutions. While AI must overcome some infrastructure hurdles, technologies to prevent, mitigate, and recover from emergencies are on the horizon.
More frequent and intense disasters put pressure on emergency managers and emergency operations centers to share and analyze data faster than ever before and with more reliability and defensibility. The future of emergency management is changing fast—and so is the science and technology to protect it.
The next-generation EOC, which implements cutting-edge technology and AI, does not promise perfect disaster management, but it does mean responders at all levels will have better situational awareness, plan more efficiently, and act faster.