Identification of disaster knowledge factors: Preliminary findings

Disasters bring about the loss of lives, property, employment and damage to the physical infrastructure and the environment. The number of reported disasters has increased steadily over the past century and risen very sharply during the past decade. While knowledge management can enhance the process of disaster management, there is a perceived gap in information coordination and sharing within the context of disaster management. Identification of key disaster knowledge factors will be an enabler to manage disasters successfully. The study aims to identify and map key disaster knowledge success factors for managing disasters successfully through capturing the good practices and lessons learned. The objective of this paper is to present the interview findings on influence level of disaster knowledge factors in managing disasters successfully and the means they influence throughout the disaster management cycle. While all the respondents agreed that the influence level of social factors in managing disasters is very high, a number of respondents agreed that the influence level of technological factors is significant. Operational/managerial, economic and technological factors seem to influence the whole disaster management cycle including mitigation/preparedness, immediate relief and reconstruction/recovery.