Building infrastructure to prevent disasters like Hurricane Maria
Abstract
2000 words Recovery efforts from natural disasters can be more efficient with data-driven information on current needs and future risks. We aim to advance open-source software infrastructure to support scientific investigation and data-driven decision making with a prototype system using a water quality assessment developed to investigate post-Hurricane Maria drinking water contamination in Puerto Rico. The widespread disruption of water treatment processes and uncertain drinking water quality within distribution systems in Puerto Rico poses risk to human health. However, there is no existing digital infrastructure to scientifically determine the impacts of the hurricane. After every natural disaster, it is difficult to answer elementary questions on how to provide high quality water supplies and health services. This project will archive and make accessible data on environmental variables unique to Puerto Rico, damage caused by Hurricane Maria, and will begin to address time sensitive needs of citizens. The initial focus is to work directly with public utilities to collect and archive samples of biological and inorganic drinking water quality. Our goal is to advance understanding of how the severity of a hazard to human health (e.g., no access to safe culinary water) is related to the sophistication, connectivity, and operations of the physical and related digital infrastructure systems. By rapidly collecting data in the early stages of recovery, we will test the design of an integrated cyberinfrastructure system to for usability of environmental and health data to understand the impacts from natural disasters. We will test and stress the CUAHSI HydroShare data publication mechanisms and capabilities to (1) assess the spatial and temporal presence of waterborne pathogens in public water systems impacted by a natural disaster, (2) demonstrate usability of HydroShare as a clearinghouse to centralize selected datasets related to Hurricane Maria, and (3) develop a prototype cyberinfrastructure to assess environmental conditions and public health impacted by natural disasters. The project thus serves to not only document post-disaster conditions, but develops a process to track the impact of recovery over time, as monitored through health, power availability and water quality.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFMNH23E2888B
- Keywords:
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- 1910 Data assimilation;
- integration and fusion;
- INFORMATICS;
- 1922 Forecasting;
- INFORMATICS;
- 4313 Extreme events;
- NATURAL HAZARDS;
- 4331 Disaster relief;
- NATURAL HAZARDS