Open source web-based GIS and database tools for emergency response

Natural hazards (i.e. earthquakes, floods) become disaster when they strike the man-made environment. Algeria has frequently experienced various types of severe natural disasters which result in considerable loss of life and extensive economic damage. To effectively reduce the impact of every disaster, available data of buildings, lifeline systems, roads, hospitals, etc, will help the managers to better decision-making. This study aims to examine the applicability of open source Web-based GIS for sharing and distributing of data for emergency response operations. The first objective for this study is to conduct a desk research to identify information needs of the emergency response community. The second objective is to build and test an open-source Web-based GIS. The third objective is to analyse the results generated by the prototype in the light of the information needs and technical issues. Therefore, a geographical information system (GIS) can support disaster management as a powerful tool for collecting, storing, analysing, modelling, displaying large amount of data and decision making.