Emergencies pose a host of challenges for governments and local and international disaster response organizations: damage assessment, planning, logistics, communication and coordination, etc. The NASA Lifelines Simulations aim to address these issues through focused role-playing games based on real-world crisis scenarios. By involving humanitarians, scientists, and technologists, these simulations provide the participants with the opportunity of stepping into the shoes of various decision-makers and stakeholders while bringing state-of-the-art tools and techniques to the table.

The most recent simulation took place from October 15 to 17, 2024. The Kontur team provided disaster data to the organizers and participants and took on several decision-making roles during the event. 

Firsthand experience managing a disaster, even a simulated one, gave us unique insights at the challenges the stakeholders face. We can use this valuable experience to enhance our own product disaster preparedness and management solution ODIN (Operational Disaster Incident Network).

What happened?

The simulation was based on real events and attracted more than 300 participants who were divided into over 20 groups with different roles and scenarios ranging from government leaders to affected communities and was coordinated across multiple platforms.

The simulation lasted three days, and each day had its own theme: the first day focused on a general crisis, the second on volcanic eruptions, the third on the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  For two hours each day, participants simulated responses to these scenarios, and submitted their feedback on various actions taken during unpredictable situations, such as a pipe burst and missing persons. Affected people requested resources and attempted to reunite with their families, government representatives made decisions, and journalists reported the events to the media. 

Our contribution to the event

Kontur participated in the preparatory stage and helped the organizers test the process before the simulation. Additionally, it provided volcanic eruption data through its Event API (Disaster Ninja), to aid the organizers in modeling the event.

It’s important to note that Kontur has a vast collection of datasets for all types of scenarios and is always open to discussing terms and formats for providing them if needed.

What this brought to Kontur

Participation in the simulation was invaluable for the development of Kontur ODIN (Operational Disaster Incident Network) — a collaborative tool for mapping disasters, drawing evacuation routes, and coordinating actions in real-time. In case of an emergency, teams can use the ODIN  application to mark incidents on the map, plan evacuations, and make decisions effectively.

We are grateful to NASA Lifelines for organizing this event and look forward to further collaboration. Additionally, we are open to engaging in mutually beneficial opportunities in the field of GIS technologies (email us at hello@kontur.io).