SGER: Digital Technology Enhanced Collection of Perishable Hurricane Damage Data

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Project AbstractPost disaster reconnaissance following major natural and man-induced events has yielded significant new insights into both the characteristics of the events as well as the performance of man-made infrastructure subjected to these catastrophic events. Teams of experts have made significant discoveries over the past 20 years as a result of rapidly deployed reconnaissance activities that have ensured that perishable data was appropriately collected and archived. The resulting information has also formed the basis for numerous detailed "follow-on" investigations. Conducting reconnaissance at post-disaster sites is not with challenge. Whether the disaster is a natural event (e.g. earthquake, tsunami, tornado, fire, hurricane) or a man-induced one (e.g. terrorist attack), individuals conducting reconnaissance are often placed in situations of elevated hazard due to follow-on events (after-shocks), delayed collapse (structures weakened during initial event), health issues (loss of sanitation) or simply breakdown of law and order. As a result, there is an increased potential for data quality and quantity to be compromised as individuals work under more challenging conditions. One factor that can minimize the impact of these adverse conditions is to have a robust integrated data collection system that supports the reconnaissance team. In this manner, individuals participating in field studies can record information more rapidly. By capturing the data directly in digital format, field team members can also share it more effectively with other team members located at remote low hazard environments. Against this backdrop of technology assisted field data collection, this project will deploy a multi-disciplinary team using state of the art handheld technology to collect damage assessment data at various locations along the Gulf Coast following the recent Hurricane Katrina event. The primary reconnaissance objective that underpins this project is field studies to develop a baseline condition model for a major port facility subjected to a catastrophic event. Additional objectives focus on evaluating multi-scale geographic variations in infrastructure damage as a result of hurricane storm surge and wind. Data that documents physical damage to the port infrastructure will be correlated with the reduced operational capacity of the port. Discussions with port officials will identify the key operational data and performance metrics that define port functionality. This may include, for example, numbers of ships processed at different berths, total tonnage unloaded and loaded, total cargo value unloaded and loaded, number of containers unloaded, loaded and stored, gate inbound and outbound movements, and yard handling movements. As necessary, statistical techniques will be used to extract value from data that only provides partial information. The project team will also collect information on the impact that other factors (e.g. the welfare and safety of the labor force, damage to the local housing stock, direct and indirect effects of emergency response management, and coordination with government entities at local, state and federal levels) have on the operational capacity of the port. This information will include mapping who is involved in port operations decision-making, and eliciting stakeholders' characterizations of port management and operations before and after hurricane Katrina. Questions will include the tenure and turnover of port staff, who is involved in making specific day-to-day and strategic decisions in the port, how communications are being managed, and the status of public-private collaborations. Findings will inform models of disaster response, public-private partnerships, and stakeholder roles in decision making.A multi-disciplinary team with significant prior experience in post-disaster reconnaissance including Loma Prieta, Northridge, Kocaeli, Bhuj, WTC, Chi-Chi, Indonesia and Africa has been convened. Team leaders will work with multi-disciplinary groups of individuals with expertise targeted to the project tasks. The schedule for the various reconnaissance activities will be mandated by the degree to which the desired data is perishable (very high - high) and the ability to gain access to critical locations. It is anticipated that all phases of the reconnaissance work will be completed within about 6 weeks. The primary project deliverable will be a comprehensive multi-scale geo-referenced database of hurricane damage. The budget includes travel and per diem costs principally. The intellectual merit of the activity is that it merges the broader objective of enhancing field data collection through the use of integrated digital technology systems with a set of focused technical objectives including port facility condition, storm surge and wind damage, and distributed infrastructure damage, each of which depend on the timely collection of perishable data. The broader impacts of the activity are embedded in both the study plan and the personnel that will execute it in that a racially and gender diverse multi-disciplinary team that will include both senior and junior faculty and students who will seek to secure rich data sets that can have significant implications for studies, not only into future hurricane preparedness, but also into the consequences of other catastrophic natural events such earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as man-induced (terrorist) disasters.