Managing disaster knowledge: identification of knowledge factors and challenges

Purpose – Knowledge management can play a vital role through ensuring the availability and accessibility of accurate and reliable disaster risk information when required and through effective lesson learning. Identification of key disaster knowledge factors will be an enabler to manage disasters successfully. The purpose of this paper is to present key knowledge factors relating to disaster management cycle, and explore a few challenges relating to identified disaster knowledge factors.Design/methodology/approach – A list of disaster knowledge factors was first identified through a comprehensive literature review and later semi‐structured interviews were conducted among few disaster management practitioners to explore the influence and challenges relating to identified knowledge factors.Findings – Technological, operational/managerial, economic, social, legal and environmental factors seem to have direct influence over the disaster management cycle, while the influence of institutional and political facto...

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