Investigation the Role of New Technologies in Coping with Natural Disasters

The occurrence of natural disasters leads to economic, social, and personal infrastructure damage. Moreover, the government capacities increase rapidly following a direct and major demand for assistance. In these situations, timely communication, information gathering, and coordination to respond to the needs are of critical importance. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of new technologies on dealing with natural disasters in Sistan and Baluchistan Province, Iran. METHODS: This practical study was conducted based on a descriptive-survey method. The population included 100 experts and key members of the Sistan and Baluchistan Crisis Management Coordination Council. In total 80 cases were selected using Cochran's formula and purposive (snowball) sampling method. The data were collected through a 46-item researcher-made questionnaire. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts, and the reliability of the questionnaire was estimated at 0.94 using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which indicated acceptable reliability of this scale. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22) through multiple regression to evaluate the research hypotheses. FINDINGS: According to the results of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the data distribution was normal. Moreover, the results of the multiple regression test showed the effectiveness of new technologies in dealing with natural disasters. Furthermore, operational equipment had the most significant effects on dealing with natural disasters. CONCLUSION: New information technologies play a significant role in crisis and disaster management. Therefore, they can be beneficial in terms of informing and reducing costs as well as losses during crises and unexpected events.