August 10, 2011

Rapid and reliable communication services are important not only in the rescue phase of a disaster but after as survivors search for vital information and loved ones try to make contact. This presents a number of challenges for information providers and also frequently leads to innovative solutions. Three examples of this ingenuity are provided by communication projects led by personnel at NTT Resonant’s goo, one of Japan’s largest Web portals.

 

 

“When a disaster strikes, naturally everybody wants to know what is going on and what they should do next. Luckily we were able to use goo to answer these questions. Even before the aftershocks stopped, I knew we needed to set up a fast-response disaster information site.”

As a survivor of 1995’s Great Hansin Earthquake, Motohisa Suzuki knew first-hand the information needs of Tohoku quake victims. Some were searching for loved ones, some needed details on evacuating, and still others required immediate assistance. Based on his experience, he decided the most effective approach would be to provide as much constantly updated information as possible. Suzuki also selected two criteria for deciding what information to release.

The first was complete accuracy. Various news outlets were already publishing “scoops” that later proved to be unreliable and Suzuki was determined goo would not add to the confusion. The information also needed “context” so people could decide what action to take. This led Suzuki’s team to upload guidance articles on evacuating safely and other vital topics, along with a vast number of links. The two point was to maintain flexibility to reflect changing visitor needs. For example, initially most were searching for damage reports, then soon after, survival information and more recently, reports related to the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Providing this service obviously required a massive time investment and Suzuki and his team worked around the clock in four rotating shifts. However, as he comments, motivation was not a problem: “I told them while we weren’t able to go to the quake area, only we could keep goo updated. This was our way to make a difference.” The approach clearly worked, with even government agencies praising goo as the best-directed disaster information site.

 

 

“Following a disaster, telephone systems often become overloaded. I know this first-hand from the Great Hanshin Earthquake but I also know being able to connect with loved ones at such times is a source of great power. When I saw a similar problem occurring in Tohoku, it became my goal to solve it.”

 

Tsutomu Maenishi was initially contacted by a PR rep at NTT’s local Iwate branch with an idea to use goo to set up an Internet message board system. According to the rep, the office was receiving numerous requests from quake survivors asking NTT to help them let relatives and friends know they were alive. Unfortunately, while work was continuing to repair communications and set up emergency lines, it was still proving difficult to contact people.

Maenishi’s approach was an innovative mix of digital and “analog” technology. His team immediately set up a special message board as part of goo’s news service and developed a system to upload messages received from Iwate to the world. However, with lines highly limited, even using a fax to deliver the messages to Tokyo was out of the question. To solve this, Maenishi sent staff from Tokyo to physically scan the messages for uploading. By the end of April, the team had released 2,300 messages from NTT and 8,000 from Japan Post.

According to Maenishi, “The number of messages is rather small when you consider the overall disaster but connecting people like this means so much to them. This project also brought home to me the great potential NTT and goo have to support people in emergencies. We are now considering how to expand our partnership to provide better, faster services.”

 

 

“After the Tohoku earthquake, I wanted to do my part but wasn’t really sure how to help. Soon after, the situation at Fukushima became a major concern and goo asked for staff to launch a radiation update service. With my background in environmental development, this felt like something I could do and I volunteered immediately.”

 

This project originated with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which initially planned to upload data to its own Website. However, due to anticipated visitor numbers, the ministry revised the plan and spread the information across multiple server networks including goo’s to avoid a crash. There was also feedback that the site was difficult to navigate, with too many links and text blocks, and the goo team was faced with the problem of making the complicated interface more “user-friendly.”

Fortunately, Yusuke Kanda, a recent addition to the company, came up with an inventive graphic format that overlaid color-coded readings on a map of Japan. The approach involved various challenges, including which colors to use for the radiation levels. While the presentation had to be clear, choosing the wrong colors ran the risk of unnecessarily alarming people. Finally, after several simulations, the new beta site went online, becoming the first to utilize a graphic format.

Since the launch, the goo team has added various refinements, including automatic updates and other navigation features, allowing the Website to be used long term. By mid-May, the site was being accessed over 40,000 times a day, demonstrating the great demand for the information. As Kanda says, “Of course nobody wants this situation, but with everyone working together, we have helped to make things better for people. Teamwork is surprisingly powerful.”