IS428 AY2019-20T1 Assign Nurul Khairina Binte Abdul Kadir TaskFindings Q2

VAST 2019 MC1: Crowdsourcing for Situational Awareness

Introduction

Data Analysis and Transformation

Interactive Visualization

Task Findings

References

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Interesting Observations

Question: Use visual analytics to show uncertainty in the data. Compare the reliability of neighborhood reports. Which neighborhoods are providing reliable reports? Provide a rationale for your response. Limit your response to 1000 words and 10 images.

Insights

In order to assess the reliability of the reports, we will consider the following factors:

• A surge of reports were made before the earthquake
• Delay in reports due to power outage and reports made after the earthquake
• Comparison of maximum impact scores over time (Pre, Major and Post earthquake)
• Variation in reported impact levels by neighbourhoods in the same region. The region is based on the estimated distance to the epicentre of the earthquake (Close, Moderate, Far and Very Far). The variation within the neighbourhood can also be observed.
• Relationship between shake intensity and other damage types to analyze damage uncertainty

This is the timeframe that we will be using for this analysis.

A. Pre-Earthquake – 6 April to 8 April

B. Major Earthquake – 8 April. Note this refers to the day of the earthquake

C. Post-Earthquake – 9 April to 11 April

Summary	Detailed Description
Surge of reports made before the earthquake on 6 April, 4 PM	We will analyze the data for the Pre-Earthquake Period (before 8 April). The filter is used to focus on this data. There is a spike in the number of reports on 6 April, 4 PM. We can see that Old Town, Scenic Vista and Broadview made a high number of reports at this timing across all damage types. Note that impact scores that are Null are not filtered out in this analysis. With reference to the shake map on 6 April, the shaking intensity was ‘Not Felt’. We will focus on this timing 6 April, 4 PM to 6 PM for this analysis. Since the shaking is Not Felt, we should expect less damage during this time period. We can expect some reports coming from the 3 neighbourhoods closest to the epicenter which is Old Town, Safe Town, and Cheddar Ford but the impact level shouldn’t be high. The average shake intensity for Safe Town was 2. The damage type filter for the mode chart is set to Shake Intensity. Safe Town was the only town with a mode of Weak from 4 PM to 6PM. At 7 PM, the mode changed back to Not Felt Since it is close to the source of the earthquake, it is acceptable and not an anomaly. The citizens might have overestimated the intensity of the shaking. Another possibility of why there is a surge of reports could be due to maintenance work. For example, we will focus on Roads and Bridges damages. There is maintenance work going on at Cheddarford which will result in delays. There is also more than 1 mode in the chart for Cheddarford and this is on 6 April, 6 PM which is 2 hours after the spike in reports.
Delay in reports due to power outage and reports made after the earthquake	We can observe a surge in reports for Old Town, Scenic Vista, Broadview and Chapparal on 9 April. All of them show a similar pattern of a gap of not having any reports made before the surge. Chapparal had As for Wilson Forest, only a small number of reports were made on 9 April. On the other hand, Chapparal had 1375 reports and Old Town had 4490 reports once power was restored. A power outage could have caused resulted in the surge of reports. This can be supported by the Mode of Power Damages By Neighbourhood chart. For instance, on 8 April at 8 AM, the mode of impact score for Power was ‘Violent’ for Chapparal. Since it was so violent, the power could have been cut off. There were no reports made till 9 April at 4 AM and we can infer that the power was restored at that time. The power outage can affect the accuracy of the true extent of the damage and affect the emergency response plan. The mode of the impact score for Power is ‘Violent’ on 9 April at 4 AM even though the earthquake is over. Once the power is restored, the backlog starts to flow which results in a spike in the number of reports that were originally made on 8 April and not 9 April.
Emergency Response Planning	From the shake intensity charts, we can deduce that the following cities need more help from 8 April, 8 AM to 11 AM: Old Town, Safe Town, Pepper Mill, and Wilson Forest as identified above. The team should respond to these cities. The number of reports made by neighborhood chart also shows that areas that are hardest hit may not always have a high number of reports and vice-versa. Therefore, using the mode of the impact score seems to be a better option in assessing the extent of the damage instead of solely using the number of reports in our analysis.
Prioritization	The time frame for this analysis will be 8 April 8 AM to 11 AM. The hardest-hit areas identified in the previous dashboards are Old Town, Safe Town, Pepper Mill, and Wilson Forest. Taking this into consideration, we can further analyze the intensity of each damage type across the city in this dashboard. Do note that Wilson Forest is considered a high priority area despite the lack of reports. An assumption made is that the emergency response team comprise of different divisions and responders are specialized or trained to deal with a specific damage type. The following cities should receive a higher priority: Damage Type High Priority Neighbourhoods Rationale Buildings Broadview, Old Town and Wilson Forest. Broadview has older-single family homes known for their architectural styles and masonry construction. It is also a great place to raise a family. We can assume that the people who live here are either old or live together as a family. Since the buildings are old, it is logical to conclude that the buildings and the people are prone to experience greater damage. As for Old Town, they are the hardest-hit area and it is a historic center. Wilson Forest also showed a high mode for building damages of 8 at 9 AM but this is based on only one report which is not conclusive enough. The team should focus on Broadview and Old Town first. Medical Southton,Palace Hills, Weston and Safe Town We also have to consider that there are some neighbourhoods with hospitals and they could be affected by the earthquake. It is critical to address the damages to the medical facilities promptly to prevent long waiting times. Trauma Hospital in Downtown and Eagle Peak Hospital in Southton are specialized in trauma and critical care and demand for these hospitals would be higher. The other hospitals may not be fully equipped to deal with emergency care. We will analyze these 2 cities first. The Amenities filter was used to focus more on neighbourhoods with hospitals. Downtown seem less affected as compared to Eagle Peak Hospital in Southon. Therefore, Southton should be one of the priority areas. The rest of the neighbourhoods identified have a high mode score and should be prioritized. Palace Hills have a high mode impact score for medical damages and it has a hospital. However, it is located very far from the earthquake. Power Old Town, Wilson Forest, and Chapparal The team can work with the St. Himark Power department. The Always Safe Nuclear Power Plant provides 72% of St. Himark’s electricity. It located in Safe Town which is one of the hardest-hit areas. The mode for power damages in Safe Town is about 3. However, it is crucial for the team to restore power since it can affect the recovery efforts (e.g. Some hospitals like the Community Hospital in Broadview have a high mode impact score for power from 8 AM to 12 PM on 8 April). Wilson Forest and Chapparal should also be prioritized due to a gap in reports made in those 2 cities. Roads and Bridges Southton, Palace Hills, Old Town, Broadview We will analyze the road damage for neighbourhoods with hospitals. If the roads to the hospitals are obstructed or damages, it will be a problem for the medical team since patients have to be transported to another hospital depending on the severity of the situation. Repair works can also affect the rescue time. Therefore, the team should provide more assistance to these neighbourhoods with hospitals to ensure that the journey to the hospital is as smooth as possible. The Amenities filter was used to focus on neighbourhoods with hospitals for this analysis. Broadview is undergoing resurfacing of residential streets resulting in minimal delays of traffic. Therefore, the other neighbourhoods identified should be prioritized first. It is also important to note that the Friday Bridge, Magritte, and Jade bridges are undergoing repair. Since the bridges connect St. Himark to the mainland, the emergency team should have a backup plan in case the citizens are unable to get the medical help they need in St. Himark itself. Sewer and Water Broadview, Old Town and Terrapin Springs For Old Town, the old water supply lines are being replaced. Therefore, we can expect citizens making reports on this although the supply lines may not be severely damaged. Therefore, the other neighbourhoods should be prioritized first.