SakunAPP: A Framework for Mobile Application Development in

Disaster Awareness, Preparedness and Response

— The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world based on some researches
covering the period between 1995 and 2015. The Philippines is surrounded with large bodies of water,
making it prone to the most frequent/recurring disasters such as storms and landslides, aside from
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. This paper proposes a framework for the development of a mobile
application that enhances information dissemination of local community officials and its residents in
times of disasters. Real-time information reports will improve response time and rescue. With an
updated database of residents as its main users, their safety could be monitored through a safety check
poll. The main feature takes advantage of crowd sourcing concepts. Capitalizing on the capability of
smartphones geolocation capabilities, pinpointing precise location of users is simplified. Data gathered
from past occurrences can be used for risk reduction planning and implementation of disaster
preparedness and response activities. The Zone 44 of Sampaloc, Manila Philippines is the initial focus of
implementation testing.

Development of Mobile Application to Assess and Enhance Earthquake

Preparedness Level of Individuals and Community in India
Earthquake is one of the natural hazards that affected the mankind the most with large scale destruction
and loss of lives. According to IS 1893:2002, 60% Indian landmass (Zone V = 12%, Zone IV = 18%, Zone III
= 26% and Zone II 44%) is vulnerable to earthquakes and several studies have shown that highly
populated states of North and North Eastern India, belong to seismically active regions in the world.
There is a need to bring the spirit of togetherness and alertness well before a disaster so that a
community can be prepared well to face the disaster and thus reduce the loss of life and properties. This
involves building a community that is aware of the earthquake hazards and prepared for it. There is a
dire need for effective earthquake preparedness and an assessment tool that can assist individuals and
communities to prepare, respond and recover from earthquakes. With the latest technological
developments, the effective way of communicating the information required for improving the
preparedness levels of individuals towards earthquakes is through mobile based applications. Hence
development of a mobile APP is need of the hour. This study focuses on developing java based
application which serves as an assessment tool to measure the preparedness level of an individual and
community. The information required to be prepared for an earthquake such as latest information
about earthquakes, actions to be taken during an earthquake, seismic zones in India are also provided
through this tool. This paper also presents a preliminary case study of applying the developed app
among the community from south Indian city of Coimbatore to understand the status of earthquake
preparedness and awareness among the community

MOBILE EDUCATIONAL GAME FOR EARTHQUAKE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS IN

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Prevention of victims and losses due to earthquake disaster can be done earlier through the use of
information media that are currently popular and widely used by the community, such as mobile phone
communication. Educational game is a game-based learning. The game has a fantasy element that
involves players in learning activities through an narration or storyline. Application of earthquake
disaster mitigation is an educational game that is useful to add insight, knowledge, and understanding of
children in the effort to overcome the impact of earthquake disaster. This study aims to build an
educational game application on the Android platform as a learning medium for earthquake disaster
mitigation and the basics of safety in the face of earthquake disaster in a more interesting and fun way.
This edugame application has a video about the simulation of earthquake and earthquake mitigation
video accompanied by game consisting of 3 stage that is before, during and after earthquake. This
edugame application is expected to provide basic safety information in dealing with earthquake disaster
for elementary school students.

Life Search - a Smartphone Application for Disaster Education and Rescue

This paper proposes an offline information sharing application in case of disaster. It assists smartphone
user’s active learning for earthquake disaster and so on. It has a function that can assist the user in
checking emergency goods nearby, accessing important information, doing message dialing and so on.
At the time of an earthquake disaster, people buried alive can seek rescue, and people outside can also
search those buried people by using this application. Also, it sends and receives the location with
iBeacon technology and GPS. Distance to the detected location and the exact location are indicated on
the level meter and map.

Game-based education for disaster prevention

Taiwan experiences typhoons on a yearly basis, and the accompanying heavy rain often causes flooding
and damage. Local decision makers invest heavily in flood prevention measures and thus need to
allocate resources wisely to minimize the destruction caused. To educate future decision makers, we
developed a flood game to encourage players’ active learning by exploration. The game design is based
on “Shikakeology” and “game-initiated learning” methods. Through the design of the game, a change in
behavior is initiated by allowing players to face real-world flooding problems and discuss problems
related to flood disaster management. Following gameplay, the instructors will introduce information
useful in solving flood-related problems. From the feedback of review meetings, game-initiated learning
was recognized as an educational method with great potential in teaching disaster management. Five
public activities have been held, including three high school camps and two exhibitions. Among the
students who participated in the high school camps, 92 % of the students thought the game was helpful
in teaching disaster prevention strategies. Ninety-six percentage of those that attended the exhibitions
said they would like to play the game again, and 98 % of the participants indicated that they would pay
more attention to the issues surrounding disaster prevention. This indicates that game-initiated learning
is able to stimulate learning for the participants.

An android-based mobile educational game for disaster preparedness: an input

to risk reduction management
The Philippines is one of the countries in the world who suffers in different disasters, particularly natural
disasters. Every year, there are more than twenty incidents recorded in the country related to different
disasters which involve numerous lives of its citizens. It is found that most Filipinos have lack of
knowledge in terms of disaster preparation specially, teenagers. This paper intended to develop a
mobile-based game that aims to spread awareness on what to do during disasters. Upon development,
forty-five (45) respondents were chosen to test the reliability of the application which composed of
elementary students, household owners, police officers, fire fighters and IT experts. Further, ISO 25010
was adapted and modified in assessing the project. The results showed that the application is strongly
acceptable and gives appropriate output in terms of disaster preparation garnering a total mean of 3.83.

“Digital Games in Disaster Preparedness Education”

Digital/computer games offer the potential for a number of promising benefits to disaster preparedness
education, however, very little academic research exists on the subject. With recent games such as
Pokémon Go showing that games can be effective influencers of behaviour, disaster preparedness
games (for both education and entertainment) were reviewed against a Knowledge Framework derived
from existing sources, and a basic set of criteria to measure their educational effectiveness. With a focus
on natural hazards, ten games were selected for analysis, and it was found that while none covered
every aspect of the Knowledge Framework, there were games with comprehensive sets of messages,
though some disaster types (e.g. volcanoes) do not have any educational games. Discussion is made on
Augmented Reality, the need for structure around educational games for them to be effective, how
educational games can learn from the game entertainment industry, and some areas of future
expansion. It was found that a need exists to validate and coordinate a list of disaster preparedness
messages generally, not only for games. Games’ most effective application may be in providing
motivation for players to engage with disaster preparedness

The literature review encompasses various studies and initiatives related to disaster awareness,
preparedness, and response, with a focus on mobile applications and game-based education.

The first study discusses the vulnerability of the Philippines to frequent natural disasters and proposes
the development of the "SakunAPP" framework for mobile applications. This framework aims to
enhance information dissemination during disasters, improve response times, and monitor resident
safety through real-time reports and crowd-sourced data, thereby strengthening disaster
preparedness and response efforts.

Another study highlights the earthquake vulnerability in India and the importance of building
community awareness and preparedness. The development of a mobile application is suggested as a
means to assess and enhance individual and community earthquake preparedness levels, providing
valuable information on earthquakes and appropriate actions.

In a different context, an educational game application for earthquake disaster preparedness in

elementary schools is discussed. The study emphasizes the use of mobile technology to engage and
educate children in a fun and interactive manner, including earthquake simulations and safety
information, with the goal of reducing earthquake-related risks.

The "Life Search" smartphone application is proposed as an offline information-sharing tool for
disaster education and rescue. This application assists users in checking for emergency resources,
accessing crucial information, and locating individuals buried during disasters. It utilizes iBeacon
technology and GPS for location tracking and communication.

Another study introduces a flood game designed for active learning and engagement in flood disaster
management. The game aims to educate players about flood-related issues and encourages problem-
solving discussions. Feedback indicates that game-initiated learning is effective in teaching disaster
prevention strategies.

In the Philippines, another mobile-based game is developed to raise awareness of disaster

preparedness. The study evaluates the game's reliability and effectiveness among various user groups,
showing positive results in terms of disaster preparation awareness.

Lastly, the review discusses the potential of digital and computer games in disaster preparedness
education. While there is limited academic research in this area, games have shown promise as
educational tools. The study suggests the need for a structured approach to educational games and
the validation of disaster preparedness messages for broader adoption.

Overall, these studies emphasize the importance of technology, especially mobile applications and
educational games, in enhancing disaster awareness, preparedness, and response, with the ultimate
goal of reducing the impact of natural disasters on communities.

INTRO:

Disasters are the most detrimental impacts on people globally and are particularly common in
developing countries. In order to limit the impact of disaster management, it is crucial to better
understand individual and community preparedness levels.