Global AI Initiative Aims to Strengthen Disaster Resilience
Global Initiative on Resilience to Natural Hazards Through AI Solutions - © Fraunhofer HHI
A major international effort to standardize artificial intelligence applications in disaster management launched on November 6, 2024, at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, according to a press release from Berlin-based Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institut (HHI).
The Global Initiative on Resilience to Natural Hazards through AI Solutions, chaired by Dr. Monique Kuglitsch from Fraunhofer HHI, brings together five UN agencies with research, government, and industry partners to develop transparent and responsible AI standards for disaster response.
The initiative builds upon three years of work by the ITU/WMO/UNEP Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Natural Disaster Management. It specifically targets support for UN member countries most vulnerable to increasing natural disasters through capacity building programs.
Current projects include using AI for landslide detection through SAR satellite imagery, improving rainfall observation in developing countries, and early detection of earthquakes and tsunamis. The initiative is also collaborating with the USGS and USDA to explore AI applications in fire fuel monitoring.
The participating UN agencies include the International Telecommunication Union, World Meteorological Organization, UN Environment Programme, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and Universal Postal Union, ensuring global reach and implementation of the developed standards.
