From Pen and Paper to "Digital Twin": Why Coordination Software in Disaster Management is a Necessity, Not a Luxury

As a specialist with 15 years of experience in disaster management, having served in On-Site Operations Coordination Centres (OSOCC) around the globe, I have observed that the greatest crisis often stems not from the physical destruction of the disaster itself, but from "information chaos." Even with thousands of heroes on the ground, without a "common operational picture" to direct them to the right worksite at the right time, good intentions are unfortunately insufficient to save lives.

Traditional "whiteboard and post-it" methods are now inadequate in the face of the speed and complexity of modern disasters. However, technology alone is not a "silver bullet"; when combined with the right strategy, it transforms into an "operational shield." Today, Management Information Systems (MIS) and Decision Support Systems (DSS) have become the backbone of not only efficiency but also accountability and security. Let us examine this inevitable transformation through the Coordinator software, which we developed and tested under real field conditions such as the Tire Earthquake Exercise and the Batuhan A Shipwreck.

1. Speed Is Not an Uncontrolled Force: Data-Driven Strategic Decision Making

Academic literature confirms our field intuition with data. According to a systematic review of 160 studies by Rahman et al. (2024), organizations utilizing Decision Support Systems (DSS) and predictive analytics can improve response times by 30%. However, speed must not turn into chaos. Data must not only be collected but also interpreted.

The Coordinator Solution: The Common Operational Picture (COP), which processes raw data from the field and presents it as "intelligence" to the decision-maker, lifts the fog of war. Questions like "How many teams are in which sector?" or "Which worksite is completed?" are instantly visualized on the map instead of being lost in radio transmissions.

2. The Soft Underbelly of Disaster Management: Resource Optimization and Dynamic Team Management

One of the greatest risks in disaster management is resource misallocation. As noted by Tan et al. (2021), resource optimization is often a neglected area in the literature. Yet, deploying an exhausted team to a high-risk worksite is an invitation for a secondary disaster. We have placed operational safety at the center by digitizing this problem with Coordinator:

• Dynamic Team Tracking: We track not only location but also the rest periods and operational readiness of the teams.
• Right Resource, Right Place: We prevent capacity idleness or congestion by allocating resources according to the density of service points.

3. Global Standards: Alignment with Sendai Framework and INSARAG

Modern disaster management is not limited to response alone. In line with the Sendai Framework (2015–2030) targets, managing disaster risk information and creating institutional "muscle memory" is essential. Coordinator serves this global goal by processing data from exercises. At the same time, we have adopted the principle of "Interoperability", which is critical in the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) methodology:

Integration and Common Language

The compatibility of generated reports with INSARAG formats overcomes the language barrier between the Local Emergency Management Authority (LEMA) and international teams through the universal language of data.

Accountability

We safeguard institutional memory by answering the toughest post-disaster question, "What did you do?" (IER process), with automatically generated transparent reports.

4. Field Technology Integration and "Resilient" Architecture

Beyond theoretical planning, centering data in the chaotic reality of the disaster field is possible through the smart use of integrated technologies. However, as a field expert, I must emphasize: Technology aims not to replace the "analog" reality (radios, human factor) of the field, but to minimize human error by uniting them on a digital backbone. For the decision-maker in the coordination center to say "I see the field", we need to establish three critical pillars:

Addressing the cybersecurity risks pointed out by Rahman et al. (2024), Coordinator's secure architecture (based on Django/PostgreSQL) and authorized data access protocols keep the privacy of disaster victim data and operational security at the highest level.

In a scenario where communication infrastructure collapses, team location data can be transmitted to the center independently of GSM via low-power sensor networks like LoRaWAN. Coordinator is designed with the flexibility to manage this hybrid data flow.

Daud et al. (2025) emphasize the role of UAVs (drones) in collecting data from hard-to-reach areas. Thermal images and debris modeling transmitted from a drone are processed into Coordinator's map layers, analyzing the structural risks of the buildings where teams will work before the operation begins.

5. Conclusion: A New Era Begins

As stated by Daud et al. (2025), situational awareness tools in emergency management directly impact team safety and operational success. The management of 42 teams from a single screen during the Tire Earthquake Exercise and the sectorization of sea surface searches in the Batuhan A Shipwreck incident proved that this system is not a "luxury" but an operational "shield."

"The era of 'We sent the teams, waiting for news' in disaster management is over. It is now the era of; 'I see the location of the teams, I know the status of the worksite, my data is secure, and I am planning the next move with algorithmic support'."

References

• Daud, A., Al Abdouli, K. M., & Badshah, A. (2025). Emerging Computing Tools for Emergency Management: Applications, Limitations and Future Prospects. IEEE Open Journal of the Computer Society, 6, 627–644.
• Gerolimos, N., Alevizos, V., Edralin, S., Xu, C., Priniotakis, G., Papakostas, G. A., & Yue, Z. (2025). Autonomous Decision-Making Enhancing Natural Disaster Management through Open World Machine Learning: A Systematic Review. Human-Centric Intelligent Systems, 5, 269–284.
• Rahman, A., Islam, M. R., Borna, R. S., & Saha, R. (2024). MIS Solutions During Natural Disaster Management: A Review on Responsiveness, Coordination, and Resource Allocation. Academic Journal on Innovation, Engineering & Emerging Technology, 1(1), 145–158.
• Tan, L., Guo, J., Mohanarajah, S., & Zhou, K. (2021). Can We Detect Trends in Natural Disaster Management with Artificial Intelligence? A Review of Modeling Practices. Natural Hazards, 107, 2389–2417.
• Vermiglio, C., Noto, G., Rodríguez Bolívar, M. P., & Zarone, V. (2021). Disaster Management and Emerging Technologies: A Performance-Based Perspective. Meditari Accountancy Research, 30(4), 1093–1117.
• Technical Documentation and Field Reports of Coordinator Software (2024). Case Studies: Tire Exercise and Batuhan A Shipwreck.