User requirements for a mobile disaster documentation system

Abstract

According to a successful disaster management the analysis of the disaster is needed. For this purpose the documentation of the disaster is necessary. Up to now many studies deal with different aspects of mobile systems for the disaster management. They are developed for disaster management activities of public safety units, but there are no applications for the documentation process during and after a disaster. In this paper we describe an approach for a mobile disaster documentation system. The main focus lies on the user requirements of the different user groups. The disaster documentation focuses mostly on information about a disaster and possible activities undertaken by disaster and public safety experts. The documentation structure should use a common language based on a standard terminology. A standardized documentation structure would help to harmonize the information basis, accessibility, and better integration in spatial decision-making processes. © 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.