Abstract Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs) are a novel form of organized
intelligence-gathering effort that has recently appeared in the emergency management and …

In the first hours of a disaster, up-to-date information about the area of interest is crucial for
effective disaster management. However, due to the delay induced by collecting and …

To address the aftermath of ever more frequent natural disasters striking highly-populated
urban areas, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations increasingly …

Nowadays, we are witnessing a shift in the way emergencies are being managed. On the
one hand, the availability of big data and the evolution of geographical information systems …

Decisions of emergency response organisations (police, fire fighters, infrastructure
providers, etc.) rely on accurate and timely information. Some necessary information is …

In a constantly evolving and hyper-connected world, the crises we are facing are changing,
exceeding borders, and impacting every sector of activity. More data can be gathered from …

Social media are a potentially valuable source of situational awareness information during
crisis events. Consistently," digital volunteers" and others are coming together to filter and …

During large scale humanitarian crises, relief practitioners identify data used for decision
making and coordination, as critical to their operations. Implicit in this need is the required …

Emergencies are characterized by high complexity and unpredictability. In order to assess
and manage them successfully, improvisation work and informal communication, even …

Social and mobile computing open up new possibilities for integrating citizens' information,
knowledge, and social capital in emergency management (EM). This participation can …