Using Non-authoritative Sources During Emergencies in Urban Areas - Computational Approaches for Urban Environments - page 348

14.3.5 Application of Mobile Phone Data in Evacuations

Fusing mobile phone data with existing data sources provides increased situational
awareness and fills existing gaps in other data. During large-scale dynamic events,
especially in high population density areas, the common operational picture is
further supplemented with mobile phone data.
One major challenge for emergency response personnel and planners is to
determine where people are located at various times of the day. This challenge
becomes even more complicated with limited communications or a complete loss
of communications. During emergencies with limited to no communications, it is
possible for emergency personnel to use archived data to estimate the density of
populations. Previously collected mobile data that accounts for diurnal population
change and population change during major events, such as sporting events, parades,
festivals, etc., provide response personnel with prediction models to use in their
planning. This information can prove very important in international response to
disasters where population data are often unreliable.
Providing assistance at the right location is often a challenge for emergency
response personnel. Often limited crowdsourced or social media data are available
in developing countries; however, mobile phones are much more prevalent and
provide a source of data on movements of people within the country. Information
on the movement of individuals within a country enables the government and
nongovernment organizations to prioritize their response based on spatial and
temporal data.
As smartphones become more prominent in developing counties, it is necessary
to devote increased efforts to increase awareness of mobile applications and their
contributions to citizens. These tools provide citizens and emergency personnel with
increased information and damage estimates on their response areas.
Finally, mobile phones provide an opportunity for evacuees to provide data
to emergency personnel through text messaging, social media, or phone calls.
Although there may be a loss of power, mobile phones usually work on battery
power for several hours after an incident. This provides an alternate means of
communication and enhances situational awareness when other communication
methods are limited or nonexistent.
Mobile phones provide emergency personnel with enhanced situational aware-
ness; however, new policies for protecting the privacy of individuals with respect to
mobile phone data are necessary to limit concerns for PII. Standards for collection of
data and who can handle data are necessary to protect citizens. Additional research is
needed to evaluate how mobile phone data is represented in Geographic Information
Systems (GIS). This research should address and refine database storage methods
and analysis of mobile phone data.