Integrated Disaster Situation Management System with Domain-Specific Ontology Model

Abstract

Disaster response and management in the era of climate change require seamless coordination across numerous agencies, systems, and stakeholders. A shared understanding of the situation is critical as responders from different organizations (e.g., fire, medical, military) must work in concert under high pressure. The common ontological definition is important for various stakeholders and expert groups to understand disaster during its different stages for controlling and managing salvation and recovery. Semantic interoperability works in practice between different organizations by creating a common language and meaning structure that enables information to be exchanged and understood without misunderstanding. This is achieved through a common ontology that defines key concepts unambiguously. This research examines the creation of common ontology and semantics aspects during nature disaster identification and management. In this study the MobiJOPA™ has been the use case environment system. It was created recently by the Start-up company Husqtec Corp., which is concentrating on situation and operational management. Use case has been a water flow disaster, which is a quite common type of disaster due to the influence of climate change. During the research has been answered to the following research questions: •How is the integrated situation awareness system dynamics structured and organized?•How is system functioning and human interoperability organized by the ontology interface?•How is data, information, and knowledge economy structured and managed?•How is stakeholder training organized, and knowledge gathered to create an ontology interface, routing common disaster understanding?Semantic infrastructure supports information integration by combining heterogeneous data sources, such as sensors and social media, into a unified information model. Semantic interoperability is not an abstract benefit; it operationalizes the data in ways that closely support the real tasks and decisions of emergency management. It creates a common operating environment where each piece of information is readily available to those who need it, in a form they can understand and trust. It moves the focus from low-level data wrangling to higher-level analysis and action. Building such interoperability requires understanding the real-world semantics, linking formal data to meanings that make sense to humans in their roles. In other words, the ontology must be grounded in the language and practice of emergency responders. This ensures that technology aligns with human thinking, further enhancing clarity and coordination. Semantic interoperability enabled by a common ontology and robust system architecture provides shared situational awareness and efficient coordination in disaster management. It reduces information fragmentation and miscommunication.

Keywords: Disaster Management, Situation Awareness, System and Human Interoperability, Ontology Interface, Domain-Specific Ontology Model

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007089