According to United Nations recent study, almost 60% of people around the globe are living in cities that are at risk from at least one natural disaster, including floods, droughts, cyclones, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and landslides. We’re talking about 900 million lives, and that’s scary.
The above numbers are exponential due to global warming, climate change, rapid development, and population growth in coastal cities. More major cities in the world are now exposed to mortality and economic losses due to natural disasters. The experts wistfully reported that about 100,000 lives are lost each year due to natural hazards and predicted that the global cost of natural disasters will top $300 billion annually by 2050. The numbers are concerning, but how can cities be prepared?
Surely, we can’t prevent natural disasters; however, depending on smart cities infrastructure can help decision-makers asset risks, manage the disaster efficiently, and ultimately recover rapidly.
Are smart cities reliance ones?
The short answer is yes. The more organized data are available for the decision-makers, the more they can take fast and wise decisions to accelerate the city’s recovery.
Below are the top three reasons how a smart city can be resilience to natural disasters:
1- Early Warning Systems
Smart cities can implement IoT advanced sensors and radars to monitor high-risk areas. For example, coastal cities can use IoT to identify and communicate hazard factors like tsunamis and flooding early. Sensors can monitor and send real-time data, then alert authorities when detecting any risk factors. The early warning systems will give the decision-makers reasonable time to manage the disaster efficiently and save lives.
2- Emergency Disaster Response
Using smart and advanced IoT infrastructure available in smart cities, authorities can mitigate the natural disaster impact by reducing emergency response, smart communications between the city’s departments and citizens, and helping quick action teams take wise and fast decisions.
3- Post Disaster Recovery
IoT combined with AI and advanced data processing tools can prompt the city’s recovery. Smart city’s infrastructure will secure reconnection for local relief sites, support transmission community information to evacuated people, and monitor soil moisture, temperature, salinity, and other useful data needed for reconstruction.
In conclusion, smart cities and the current IoT revolution are not only for luxury. Smart cities have proven their abilities to elevate security factors, reduce risks, and save lives.
In RPMAnetworks, we support the digital transformation for cities, and we have already come a long way in this direction. Visit www.rpmanetworks.com to know more about our services and products.