Introduction The effectiveness of disaster planning and post-disaster response efforts is heavily reliant on the rapid availability of situational information, such as high-level estimations of extents of damage, loss of critical infrastructure functionality, and loss of life. The ability to quickly garner this information allows for the immediate accessibility of not only a pulse on the situation but a more detailed picture of the aftermath, thereby promoting a more organized, efficient, and confident response in the early hours following a disaster.
This project seeks to develop a framework of near real-time impact tools (NRITs), particularly consisting of a network of instrumented buildings and other monitoring sources feeding information to structural analysis software tethered to a city-wide inventory of structures in Wellington. The output of these tools will provide rapidly-accessible situational information, aiding in decision-making and resource allocation. The current iteration is shown below. Note the feedback loops denoting validation and updating efforts.