Tech Peak » Adoption of GIS Technology Increasing for Managing Natural Disasters

Adoption of GIS Technology Increasing for Managing Natural Disasters

by ananyjoshi
GIS in Disaster Management Market

“Over the last 500 years, it is thought that at least 200,000 people have died as a result of volcanic eruptions.” “After Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, 80% of New Orleans was under water.”. These statistics by National Geographic present a grim picture of how, sometimes, nature gets back at humans for manipulating and destroying it for their own benefit. As a result of the rising number of such disasters, geographic information systems (GIS) are being increasingly used for tracking early-warning signals in real time, analyzing emergency supply distribution, evaluating safe shelter areas, and detecting the potential impact of disasters on buildings, roads, and bridges.

Essentially, the rising adoption of the GIS technology in government organizations for emergency management is expected to drive the GIS in disaster management market at a high CAGR of 13.7% during the forecast period (2020–2030). The market stood at $2.3 billion in 2019, and it is projected to reach $9.4 billion by 2030. These organizations are deploying advanced technologies for the effective management of disaster situations, assisting communities in preparing for such mishaps, forecasting emergencies, handling search and rescue operations, and estimating the overall damage.

At present, the adoption of GIS-supported applications is escalating at a significant pace due to the digital transformation of the organizations dealing with disaster and emergency management. GIS aids disaster management agencies in the easy collection of updated data on vulnerable locations and evacuation needs. For example, in September 2019, Esri Inc. introduced an application, named Hurricane Aware, which is compatible with its ArcGIS Living Atlas platform. This application offers information support to the National Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center for predicting hurricanes.

The technology segment of the GIS in disaster management market is categorized into satellite imaging, remote sensing, and light detection and ranging (LiDAR). Among these, the remote sensing category held the largest market share in 2019 due to the heavy utilization of this technology for the accurate inspection of disaster-affected areas and quick evaluation of the impact. The technology aids in capturing pictures of the affected areas at a lower cost in comparison to helicopter-based data monitoring. Remote sensing also offers detailed geospatial classification and coverage.

Globally, the North American region made the most use of such solutions for disaster management during 2014–2019. This was due to the surging need for integrating state-of-the-art technologies in geospatial solutions, increasing government spending on disaster management, and rising concerns over the intensifying losses owing to hurricanes, floods, and tornados. Additionally, the strong presence of GIS vendors and a strategic shift of emergency management organizations toward digital information support the adoption of such solutions in the region.

According to P&S Intelligence, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) GIS in disaster management market will witness the fastest growth in the coming years. This will be due to the changing climatic conditions and increasing incidence of natural disasters, including earthquakes, cyclones (called typhoons in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean region), and floods, in densely populated nations, such as India, China, South Korea, the Philippines, and Japan. Resultingly, disaster management agencies in APAC are focusing on the adoption of platforms that can help them in better understanding and responding to such events.

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