Using Data

Managing the Risks of Unmanned Aircraft Operations in Development Projects

From an origin in military and security applications, the use of unmanned aircraft (UA) technology is currently transforming commercial and humanitarian activity. Its evolution started many decades ago, but was limited by the technology of the time; in recent years, advances in this area have facilitated an increasingly rapid expansion of UA technology that has started to move into a variety of sectors. As the societal benefits of UA become clearer, organisations across the commercial and government spectrum seek to exploit the technology to improve their business models and offer a safer, cleaner, and more cost-effective alternative to traditional data-capture methods.

Open Cities Africa Kickoff 2018

The Open Cities Africa Kickoff hosted the largest gathering of teams in Open Cities history this summer in Kampala, Uganda. For a week in June, eleven Open Cities project teams represented by 55 delegates convened as a cohort to receive training in innovative, open, and participatory data collection and mapping processes to support management of… Read more »

How Afghanistan uses GeoNode to build resilience

Very little information on hazards and risk was available in Afghanistan a few years ago. A team set out to produce information essential to disaster risk management. They developed innovations on top of a standard GeoNode for visualization & cost-benefit analysis, enabling Afghanistan’s planning to incorporate disaster considerations.

Niger

The PGRC-DU is developing state-of-the-art tools to identify flooding hot-spots and evaluate the added value of flood mitigation measures. These tools will lead to better knowledge of flood-exposed assets and people in the city of Niamey.

InaSAFE and OpenDRI at State of the Map Africa

In July 2017, the InaSAFE team had the opportunity to present another training course to DRR practitioners. The training integrates various disciplines, such as the creation and use of open data sets (in particular OpenStreetMap), fundamental GIS skills (through the use of QGIS) and skills in using InaSAFE. The course was presented in English and French at Makerere University in Kampala and was attended by thirty DRR practitioners from government agencies and universities in Niger, Madagascar, Comoros, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi and Uganda.

What can you do with a high-resolution population map?

Population density is one of the most important statistics for development efforts across many sectors, and since early 2016 the World Bank has been collaborating with Facebook on evaluating a new source of high-resolution population data that sheds light on previously unmapped populations.

InaSAFE Training in Salima, Malawi

To meet the needs of the Government of Malawi, GFDRR asked Kartoza to conduct a three-day training on InaSAFE in Salima. With a total of 14 participants in attendance, there were staff from different government departments including the Department of Disaster Affairs, Surveys department, UNIMA-Polytechnic, Physical planning, and Department of Land Resources.

Introduction to InaSAFE

Learn more about InaSAFE, a free software that produces realistic natural hazard impact scenarios for better planning, preparedness and response activities.

Code for Resilience Problem Statement Workshop

In June of 2016 the OpenDRI Sri Lanka team held a Code for Resilience problem statement workshop at the Disaster Management Center of Sri Lanka with more than 25 representatives from government, media and the private sector in Sri Lanka.

Uganda

In Uganda, the World Bank is supporting the Government to develop improved access to drought risk related information and quicken the decision of scaling up disaster risk financing (DRF) mechanisms.

Understanding Risk and Finance Conference

The Understanding Risk and Finance Conference (URf), held on November 17–20, 2015, at the African Union
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, convened 450 disaster risk management experts and practitioners to discuss and
share knowledge on how to mitigate the socioeconomic, fiscal, financial, and physical impacts of disasters in
African nations.

Zanzibar

The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar (RGoZ) seeks to address high vulnerability to disaster losses from cyclones, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis with the support of the World Bank Open Data for Resilience Initiative (OpenDRI) and Southwest Indian Ocean Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative (SWIO RAFI).

Sri Lanka

The Disaster Management Centre of Sri Lanka (DMC) has been working with OpenDRI to support evidence-based methods to better plan for, mitigate, and respond to natural disasters.

Malawi

The Government of Malawi (GoM) with the support of the World Bank has been developing the Open Data for Resilience Initiative (OpenDRI) with the aim of supporting evidence-based and innovative solutions to better plan, mitigate, and prepare for natural disasters and particularly for the damaging floods that occur yearly.

The Digital Divide: a challenge to overcome in tackling climate change

Try to imagine a world without the Internet.

Impossible, isn’t it?

Over the past 25 years, the Internet has become the nervous system of our society, interconnecting all the different parts of our everyday lives. Our social interactions, ways of doing business, traveling and countless other activities are supported and governed by this technology.

At this very moment, just over three billion people are connected to the Internet, 105 billion emails are being sent, two million blog posts have just been written (including this one) and YouTube has collected four billion views. These numbers give you a glimpse of the extent to which humanity is intimately and deeply dependent on this technology.

The digital revolution has changed the daily lives of billions of people. But what about the billions who have been left out of this technological revolution?

Project NOAH launches New DRRM Online Platform

Project NOAH officially launched its new disaster risk reduction and management online platform on 11 December 2015. New innovations and features were added to the platform to enhance the existing disaster information and management system. The information and improved tools included in the platform can be used in terms of planning against and preparing for disasters…

Harnessing the Power of the Crowd – Reflections Six Months after the Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal

Through the Open Data for Resilience project, The World Bank, GFDRR, and other partners are supporting efforts to map areas at risk before a disaster strikes.

•In the six months following the April 2015 earthquake, OpenStreetMap data for Nepal was accessed by more than 3,300 users using a GFDRR platform that tailored the data for response and recovery.

•Urban areas around the world, including cities in Indonesia, Philippines, Malawi and Bangladesh, are a major focus of mapping efforts.

Paying it forward in a digital age: A global community committed to a mapped world

​​When I first heard about OpenStreetMap (OSM) – the so called Wikipedia of maps, built by volunteers around the world – I was skeptical of its ability to scale, usability in decision making, and ultimate longevity among new ideas conceived in the digital age. Years later, having working on many disaster risk management initiatives across the globe, I can say that I am a passionate advocate for the power of this community. And I continue to be struck by the power of one small initiative like OSM that brings together people across cultures and countries to save lives. It is more than a technology or a dataset, it’s a global community of individuals committed to making a difference.

People may be surprised to find that the maps we take for granted in metropolitan areas of the developed world may be completely absent, vastly out of date, or pay-per-view in the developing world. Imagine an urban area without a transportation network, government agencies without access to the location of their assets (schools, health facilities, etc), or even a map without village names. This is the reality for many of the countries most vulnerable to disaster risk. Now, imagine this urban area facing an unprecedented crisis brought by flooding, an earthquake, a pandemic – think about the challenges of planning a response.

Community Mapping For Flood Resilience Kick Off Workshop

The kick-off workshop was held on March 26th at the Buni Innovation Hub, at the Commission for Science and Technology. Panel: Innovating Urban Flooding Primer: Addressing the Urban Flood Challenge—Innovations and Opportunities Rekha Menon, Program Leader, World Bank Prof. Robert Kiunsi, Dean of the School of Real Estate Studies (SRES), Ardhi University Julia Letara, Town… Read more »

MAPA-HANDA: Customizing InaSAFE for Philippine Context

Understanding the importance of decentralizing DRRM for a more relevant DRRM planning, Philippine’s National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), the NationaI Youth Commission (NYC), and the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) initiated MAPA-HANDA, a joint effort to develop online modules on mapping for local DRRM planning.

IT community competes in Disaster Management software development

Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, is prone to natural disasters such as floods and fires. The World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction & Recovery and the Jakarta Disaster Management Agency held a competition to gather ideas on how information technology can be used in disaster situations.

To Save Lives and Livelihoods, Start By Understanding Disaster Risk

In 1999, the state of Odisha, India, was hit by the most powerful tropical cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean, causing nearly 10,000 fatalities and US$5 billion in damages. For the next decade, the government of Odisha and partners worked to identify and mitigate cyclone risk. When the similarly intense Cyclone Phailin struck Odisha in October 2013, the region counted 99.6% fewer deaths.

We cannot prevent a monsoon or cyclone from striking ­­– and as population growth, urbanization, and climate change are on the rise, the frequency and impact of natural disasters will increase. But with innovation, collaboration and a better understanding of risk, we can build communities that are more resilient to natural hazards.

Understanding Risk in an Evolving World

The last ten years have seen marked improvement in disaster risk assessment capabilities and communication efforts. As the period of the Hyogo Framework for Action comes to an end, Understanding Disaster Risk in an Evolving World – Emerging Best Practices in Risk Assessment and its accompanying Policy Note seek to inform the post-2015 discussions. Through an examination of more than 50 case studies, including some from World Bank and GFDRR teams, this reference guide by the GFDRR Innovation Lab offers best practices in the creation, communication, quality, and transparency of risk information. Topics range from satellite earth observations to community mapping and from risk financing to urban disaster risk modeling.

Helping Build Resilient Communities

Following the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 2004, the Government of Indonesia began compiling a comprehensive approach to disaster risk management (DRM). The World Bank has helped through several small interventions, such as preparing the software program InaSafe and supporting the building of ‘safe’ schools, which have had wide-ranging impact and incorporate disaster risk management in overall development planning.

Webinar: Data for Post-Disaster Decision-Making in Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines

We are kicking off our Caribbean Open Data for Resilience (OpenDRI) Webinar Series on Wednesday, March 26 at 2:30 pm ET! This webinar, Data for Post-Disaster Decision-Making in Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, will focus on the Rapid Damage and Loss Assessment (DaLA) conducted in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the rapid disaster impact needs assessment conducted in Saint Lucia following the heavy rains that occurred on December 25, 2013.

Building climate and disaster resilience through open data and innovation

Type: Meeting or Conference Organizer: Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, the (GFDRR); World Bank, the (WB) Date: 20-21 Mar 2014 Location: United States of America (Washington D.C.) Venue: World Bank This two-day workshop will bring together key leaders from business, government, international development, academia and civil society to explore how we can work… Read more »

Insights in DRM – A Case for Open Data

Here is the debut publication of “Insights in DRM – A Practitioner’s Perspective on Disaster Risk Management in Latin America and the Caribbean”. The first issue, Open Data for Resilience (OpenDRI) in the Caribbean, focuses on the use of spatial data in decision making to reduce disaster risk.

Building Urban Resilience in East Asia: Principles, Tools, and Practice

This handbook is a resource for enhancing disaster resilience in urban areas. It summarizes the guiding principles, tools, and practices in key economic sectors that can facilitate incorporation of resilience concepts into the decisions about infrastructure investments and general urban management that are integral to reducing disaster and climate risks.