2006: Another research paper on Sahana, this time from the world of Sahana GIS. The paper was presented at ISCRAM, under the Geographic Information Science for Crisis Management session.

Title: GIS Integration in the Sahana Disaster Management System

Authors: M. Careem, D. Bitner, R.De Silva

Published at: ISCRAM

Presented at: ISCRAM, Delft, Netherlands, by Mifan Careem

Abstract:

Disaster Management often involves using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to manage large amounts of data efficiently. Data during a disaster are often related to geographic features or spatial data, thus requiring special forms of data management software to utilize and manage them efficiently. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are specialized database systems with software that can analyze and display data using digitized maps and tables for decision making. Preparing and correctly formatting data for use in a GIS is nontrivial, and it is even more challenging during disasters because of tight time constraints and inherent unpredictability of many natural disasters. This paper describes the important role of a GIS in disaster management, and discusses the most common characteristics of GIS and their potential use in disaster response. We follow up with a detailed description of the GIS prototype in the Sahana Disaster Management System.