Natural disasters across the globe have become increasingly more damaging and frequent. On top of an on-going global health crisis, the US has experienced an unprecedented series of natural hazards in 2021 –
Feb – Winter Storm Season
May – North Indian Ocean Cyclone Season
July – North American Wildfire Season
July – Atlantic Hurricane Season
Emergency services and disaster relief operations are stretched beyond capacity. And we now look to AI technology to find ways to automate emergency response and deliver resources faster and more efficiently than ever.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning have accelerated to the point where they can make accurate predictions, automate decisions and trigger lifesaving actions. Here are 5 ways that AI can advance emergency management and send help to the right place and at the right time.
1. Targeted Response
An avalanche of information rushes through control rooms and emergency call centers when a disaster strikes. AI rapidly parses out information in the order of critical priority and deploys resources and personnel correctly.
By crawling through volumes of data at high speed, AI is able to accomplish mission-critical functions that humans under extreme stress may not be able to do such as – analyzing multiple streams of news reports and social media to provide a picture of events as they unfold, prioritizing distress signals, and finding affected populations with pin-point accuracy.
DigitalGlobe’s Open Data Program is the best example of AI-powered satellite technology that provides high-quality imagery for disaster response – showing damaged houses, roads, buildings and infrastructure from space.
2. Predictive Analysis
Machine learning and data science approaches can glean insights from past events and sense patterns to improve prediction. For example, AI-based algorithms can organize disaster data in the order of severity. It can identify climate patterns, at-risk areas and populations, and send early warnings for potentially disastrous weather events.
AI can be used to foretell the economic and human impact of natural disasters. By processing information down to specific regions, counties and population demographics, AI can predict the monetary cost of natural disasters.
The advancement of cloud computing and open source programs have enabled data scientists to develop even more powerful and sophisticated disaster analysis tools. Agencies with limited resources can build disaster response systems based on reliable models, thanks to AI.
3. Next-Gen Distress Calling
911 can be flooded with so many distress calls that it can run the risk of losing critical information. AI is especially useful in this scenario because it can manage a high volume of calls in record time. It is practically better suited to respond to emergency calls compared to a human call agent because it can perform multiple functions simultaneously.
The AI-powered 24/7 dispatcher can be designed to execute intelligent call routing, outbound notifications, unified messaging, and Interactive Voice Response. It can automatically determine the type of incident and verify the location.
AI now has the uncanny ability to mimic natural human interaction. It’s astounding how AI can analyze the tone of voice for credibility, filter calls and prioritize them based on urgency while instantly transcribing and translating languages for accuracy.
4. Public Service Via Social Media
AI-powered chatbots can deliver lifesaving information to the masses via popular social media channels. It can process crowd-sourced information such as locations, photos, videos, news feeds, etc to facilitate emergency relief.
It will validate and check information from other sources and then pass on the relevant details to disaster relief agencies. It can assess damage in real time and help prioritize response efforts by crawling through shared data on social media.
Another use of AI in crisis management is it can be programmed to filter automatically, tag, and highlight relevant content from social media. It can also flag posts for misinformation as evidenced in Twitter’s response to Covid news using a word filter.
5. Cloud-based Emergency Management
HAVRION’s suite of AI-powered platforms is designed for emergency managers who will ultimately decide how to best respond in a crisis situation. It is hosted in the cloud so emergency response teams can command, control, and monitor an unfolding situation from any device.
From projecting evacuation maps to identifying groups and individuals in imminent danger, Havion’s AI solutions provide critical communications and visibility to first responders for accurate situational assessment.
About HAVRION PROTECT
HAVRION is leveraging AI technology to create smart and safe environments. We develop advanced hazard detection and emergency response for schools, buildings, and facilities with integrated hardware and software systems under the HAVRION Protect Suite.
With Havrion Protect you can: Control devices, applications, and communication platforms virtually in an emergency event; Manage sensors, triggers, devices, and displays on digital floor plans from a single, centralized management console; Build customized evacuation floor plans with static routes and lockdown procedures; and Design levels of security and communication.
Schedule a Virtual Demo to learn how Havrion’s AI-powered solutions can help protect your environment from all types of natural or man-made emergency hazards.
