The PRISM tool enables early warning, preparedness, and response to drought and other extreme weather events.
Sri Lanka is in a bit of a dry spell, punctuated by the side effects of the monsoon season – floods and landslides.
Such extreme weather is impacting people’s livelihoods and food supply, and they do not seem to be going away for the time being. This is why the UN’s Pulse Lab Jakarta (PLJ) is working with the Ministry of Disaster Management of Sri Lanka and the World Food Programme on a disaster management information system, the Platform for Real-time Information and Situation Monitoring (PRISM).
The platform provides the government with three layers of data visualisation and analysis. The baseline data layer shows basic information from official statistics, and the climate layer compiles satellite data on drought. The impact layer provides insights on these two previous layers, such as where affected crops are, and how many people are at risk of food insecurity. Such data allow for early warning, preparedness, and response when it comes to climate change.
PRISM was based on a similar system in Indonesia, known as the Vulnerability Analysis Monitoring Platform for the Impact of Regional Events (VAMPIRE) – and in fact, is an improved version. PRISM has a more refined method of acquiring data, updates datasets in shorter intervals, has drought situation reporting capabilities, and includes automated features.
The World Food Programme has expressed interest in developing additional layers to improve flood monitoring, and better vulnerability models to accelerate disaster response, according to a PLJ blog. The experience of working with Sri Lanka on the PRISM platform will also inform improvements to Indonesia’s VAMPIRE system.
As countries grapple with climate change, emergency response and preparedness teams are put to the test. But in today’s connected world, data analysis can be the most powerful tool of all.
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