Author(s)

MARIJA TRAUT, ANDREA HOELTL, ROMAN BRANDTWEINER

Abstract

In the context of disaster management, drought may seem a relatively harmless natural hazard, but according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) more than 2 billion people have been affected by drought since 1900 and more than 11 million people died because of it since 1900. These alarming numbers show quite clearly that information concerning droughts needs to be gathered and analyzed in a structured manner by using advanced technologies, so the effects of droughts can be minimized. Our research has its focus on the usage of information systems in the management of droughts in South Asia. It is designed as desk research. We concentrate on documents released by institutions such as International Water Management Institute and apply the method of document analysis. First, the paper defines disaster management and its different stages, then the natural hazard drought itself, followed by the state of the art of existing information systems. The conclusion provides improvement proposals for the usage of information systems in the field of disaster management.

Keywords

information systems for disaster management, disaster management cycle, drought management, drought indicators, South Asian Drought Monitoring System (SADMS), Global Integrated Drought Monitoring And Prediction System (GIDMaPS)