279EBINA Tsuyoshi et al.

1 Introduction

The telephone is often used as a means ofinquiring about the status of disaster victims indisasters such as earthquakes. However, thiscan easily lead to congestion over the lines.We have therefore developed a system thatuses the Internet［1］. We refer to this system asa “disaster victim safety information registra-tion and retrieval system”, or by the acronymIAA , from the expression “I am alive”.

Figure 1 presents a conceptual diagram ofthe IAA system. Disaster victims enter detailson their status in the database on the Internetvia web, fax, fixed telephone line, mobilephone, or various other available means. Simi-larly, others can use the Internet to search forinformation on possible victims.

While there are several IAA systems,including standard and portable IAA systems,our research and development efforts havecentered on a large-scale IAA system capable

of withstanding the enormous traffic anticipat-ed in the event of a large-scale disaster.

2 Research and development ofa standard IAA system

The standard IAA system (Fig.2), com-prised of a combination of rack-mounted PCs,

4-4 Research and Development for VictimsInformation Registration and RetrievalSystem (IAA System) and its Applicationto Natural Disasters

EBINA Tsuyoshi, MATSUMOTO Fumiko, and OHNO Hiroyuki

When a huge disaster happens, many telephone calls rush into the disaster area. We devel-oped an internet-based disaster victim safety information registration and retrieval system (IAAsystem) and also had on-the-spot inspections.

We also developed a World Wide IAA system (WWIAA system) by re-arranging IAA systemto the world. Moreover, the WWIAA system is tested for the natural disasters and showed theefficiency as the result.

KeywordsIAA system, Survival information, Emergency communication, Telecommunications for disaster relief

Fig.1 Conceptual Diagram of the IAASystem

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was developed first as a mobile system capa-ble of responding to up to several thousandsafety inquiries, and was transported to shel-ters or other locations provided with relativelysecure communications. Later, a portable IAAsystem (Fig. 3), comprised of notebook PCsoriginally designed for production lines, wasdeveloped for further weight reduction andenhanced durability［2］.

The standard and portable IAA systemsare each made up of two PCs, featuring per-formance enabling even municipalities andcorporations to establish their own safety-information systems (PCs with a Pentium III700 MHz processor and 128 MB memory—the standard specification in 2000 when the

systems were developed). As a result, PCs fornormal use can be diverted for IAA systemuse in the event of a disaster.

Among the actual system performancetests conducted are an operating system(FreeBSD) security verification test, confirma-tion of time required from equipment assem-bly to system startup (approx. one day per set)and an operation test using multiple OSs.Other tests were also conducted, taking advan-tage of standard IAA system portability,including user interface tests through partic-ipation in a variety of disaster prevention drillsand database distribution tests in cooperationwith the WIDE project［3］.

Further, startup expertise has been devel-oped through experimental operations in real-life disasters, and reflected in later systemdevelopments.

3 Research and development ofa large-scale IAA system

In the event of a near-field earthquake inthe Tokyo metropolitan area, the number ofvictims unable to return home is expected toamount to roughly 3.71 million people［4］.Specifically, this refers to victims unable toreturn home by foot as a result of disruptionsto public transportation services immediatelyafter an earthquake.

It is not difficult to imagine the congestionwhen victims unable to return home try to calltheir families or acquaintances to reassurethem or to find out whether they are safe. Inthe event of a large-scale disaster, a high loadwill presumably be imposed on any IAA sys-tem. We have therefore developed a newlarge-scale IAA system capable of withstand-ing enormous traffic［5］. Figure 4 presents aconfiguration diagram of the large-scale IAAsystem.

The large-scale IAA system is made up oftwo parts: the IAA database unit, managingthe IAA system’s safety information databaseand serving as the back end of the IAA sys-tem; and a group of application servers actingas web servers for users, serving as the front

Fig.2 Standard IAA System

Fig.3 Portable IAA System

281EBINA Tsuyoshi et al.

end of the IAA system. Adopting this configu-ration allows the system not only to distributedatabase load but also to manage the databaseunit and the application server group separate-ly, with distinct management policies.

A group of high-performance DB serverstogether form the IAA database. Equippedwith DBMS, these servers together replicatethe safety registration data. If a remote DBserver stops functioning in the event of a dis-aster, the IAA database will continue to func-tion using a different server.

On the other hand, the application servergroup is made up of several web servers, thusdistributing user access load. This allows foran increase in the number of applicationservers in response to an increase in load.

The IAA system is both a safety inquirysystem and a database of personal informa-tion. As a result, countermeasures are requiredagainst unauthorized access and other infor-mation leakage. The large-scale IAA systemthus incorporates a variety of measures to pre-vent such leakage.

The first such measure is designed to pre-vent unauthorized access. The system not onlyeliminates unauthorized access requests viafirewalls but also accepts alerts from intrusiondetection systems (IDSs) in the event ofattempted intrusion. Further, system vulnera-

bilities were investigated through advancesecurity auditing of the system as a whole;through patching and other means, these vul-nerabilities were eliminated.

The second measure is designed to preventelectromagnetic wave leakage. Informationmay leak through a PC monitor cable, themonitor itself, and in other ways (for moredetails on information leakage, refer to 3-13,“A Trial of the Interception of Display ImageUsing Emanation of Electromagnetic Wave”,in this journal). Therefore, the entire roomaccommodating the large-scale IAA system isprovided with an electromagnetic shield thatprevents the leakage of electromagnetic wavesand the information these waves carry.

The third measure is designed to block theentry of outsiders into the system room. Coun-termeasures against unauthorized access andleakage of electromagnetic waves are uselessif there is free access to the system room. Inaddition to ID card authentication, a finger-print authentication scheme has been intro-duced to prevent intrusion.

4 Evolution of WWIAA system

As mentioned earlier, the IAA system dis-tributes its databases to reduce possible dam-age to the system in the event of a disaster and

Fig.4 Configuration Diagram of the Large-Scale IAA System

282 Journal of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology Vol.52 Nos.1/2 2005

to distribute the communication load. Toreduce damage to the IAA system resultingfrom a wide-area disaster, it is important tomaximize the physical distance between data-bases. Therefore, the large-scale IAA systemhas been reconfigured for distributionthroughout the world, for a newly establishedWorld Wide IAA System (WWIAA System).Figure 5 presents a configuration diagram ofthe WWIAA system.

The WWIAA system is provided at foursites: Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, Louisville,Colorado, in the US; and Toulouse, in Haute-Garonne, France, with IAA system databasesat three of these sites (Tokyo, Osaka, andLouisville). The system databases are syn-chronized using the replication mechanismwithin each. This setup offers a number ofadvantages. For example, a person in the UScan search from the Louisville site for detailson victims registered in Tokyo. Subject to apublic experiment beginning in January 2005,the WWIAA system has demonstrated its reg-istration and search capabilities.

5 Research and development ofthe IAA system user interface

Disasters do not choose a place or time tooccur. Because of the range of communicationmeans that may be available at the time of a

disaster, various user interfaces are at theready within the IAA system, using the web,fax, telephone, or mobile phones, for example.

A variety of user interfaces are also neces-sary in that victims may not be able to use oneor another. For example, many of the elderlyare presumably poor at manipulating the PC,whereas the hearing disabled cannot use tele-phones or mobile phones. Therefore, compati-bility with various user interfaces also pro-vides universal accessibility. A quantitativecomparison and study of registration-relatedissues by users (divided into five groups:adults, the elderly, the visually disabled, thehearing disabled, and elementary school-agechildren) showed that the elderly, for example,encounter difficulties in registering safetyinformation［6］.

This section discusses the various userinterfaces.(1) Web

The web is the most fundamental means ofaccess. However, problems with web accessi-bility were indicated based on webpagedesign. The webpage has thus been redesignedto ensure easy accessibility for the visuallydisabled and others.(2) Interactive fax

With the widespread use of optical charac-ter recognition (OCR) technology, schemeshave been developed for converting handwrit-

Fig.5 Configuration Diagram of the WWIAA System

283EBINA Tsuyoshi et al.

ten characters into character codes and for theregistration of such codes. However, OCRtechnology falls short of 100% recognition;recognition results thus require calibration.

Being a paper medium, fax is more famil-iar and easier to use for the elderly. On theother hand, as a unidirectional means of com-munication, it cannot confirm with certaintythat the transmitted information has beenreceived by the intended party. Therefore, amethod has been developed for the interactiveregistration of safety information through thereturn of transmission results to the sender［7］.A disaster victim sends a registration formafter entering his/her safety information. Thefax server runs the transmitted informationthrough an OCR program, generating andreturning a modified form. The sender goesover the returned modified form, makes cor-rections if necessary, and resends it. The faxserver recognizes the document via OCR andissues an initial confirmation document to thesender. If there is no further transmission fromthe sender during a given time interval, the faxserver determines that there are no more cor-rections, and registers the safety informationin the IAA server.

This procedure allows even those amongthe elderly unaccustomed to PC use and thehearing disabled to register safety informationand to confirm the registration results.(3) Mobile phone

Mobile phones are everywhere, with the

latest handsets offering not only voice com-munication but also email, web access, andJAVA capabilities. We have thus created awebpage and application form for mobilephones. The mobile phone web page is a sim-plified version of the PC web page.

For the application form, a scheme hasbeen developed for storing personal data inadvance, such as the name, and adding andtransmitting only disaster-dependent informa-tion in the event of disaster, such as the gravi-ty of injury. This has made it possible for theuser to enter and send the minimum requiredamount of information in time of disaster.(4) PDA

In consideration of the communicationenvironment in a disaster, sending multipleitems of safety information at once is moreeffective than sending them separately. Wehave therefore developed a PDA-based regis-tration method. This method consists of firsttransferring the registered safety informationfrom one PDA to another, thus focus a greatdeal of information within a single PDA. ThatPDA is then removed from the disaster areaand connected to the Internet or other networkfor registration. This allows for safety infor-mation to be registered even in the totalabsence of communications within the disasterarea.(5) Other registration methods

In addition to the aforementioned methods,other registration methods—using touch-dial

Fig.6 Interactive Fax System

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telephone and amateur radio—have been devel-oped. At the same time, study of a guideline forregistration methods was undertaken［8］. Astudy was also conducted on the efficacy ofvoice recognition in the registration of safetyinformation［9］. Further, privacy awareness interms of personal information was comparedbetween Japan and Korea to investigate hownormal opinions on this matter might change inthe event of a disaster［10］.

6 Operational track record of theIAA system

The operational track record of the IAAsystem includes experimental operations dur-ing real-life disasters and operational experi-ments in disaster prevention drills sponsoredby municipalities and other organizations. Thefollowing illustrates the operations of the IAAsystem in response to real-life disasters:

Demands of the IAA system were collect-ed from the user’s standpoint--for example,through experimental operations--and reflect-ed in later developments. In the process, theIAA system has been confirmed as an emer-gency communication system that can readilybe put to practical use.

To date we have launched the IAA systemin response to a number of disasters, and willreport below on the response to the Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake and others using the

WWIAA system as an example of recentexperimental operations.

On Saturday, October 23, 2004, large-scaleearthquakes took place with the epicenterlocated at the Chuetsu region in Niigata Pre-fecture (Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake). TheNational Institute of Information and Commu-nications Technology’s Secure NetworksGroup and IAA Alliance coordinated effortsto launch the IAA system and to begin experi-mental operation of the safety inquiry service.

Figure 7 illustrates the cumulative num-bers of registrations and searches. A clearjump is seen in the numbers of registrationsand searches at the early stages of the disaster,followed by stabilization over time. The IAAsystem for the Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquakeended at 17:00 on Dec 28, 2004, with the finalnumbers of registrations and searches at 630and 79,076, respectively.

Of special note in terms of the response tothe Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake is the suc-cessful coordinated response with the NiigataPrefectural Government. This response dif-fered considerably from those seen in the past.Also noteworthy is the large number of peoplewho registered with and searched the IAA sys-tem using links provided by local govern-ments and NGO organizations, and the NiigataPrefectural Government, in order to trace indi-viduals.

The response to the Sumatra OffshoreEarthquake, on the other hand, differs in manyways from past disaster responses. Due to thelack of initial information, for example, theIAA system was not initially placed in opera-tion. The system was started later, however,because the earthquake damage was found tobe more severe than expected and requestsbegan to come from various circles for launchof the IAA system. While still in operation asof the writing of this paper, the WWIAA sys-tem for the Sumatra Offshore Earthquake hasrecorded 266 registrations and 50,728 search-es. The Sumatra Offshore Earthquake is dif-ferent in many ways from past earthquakes inthat the number of missing accounted for ahigh percentage of casualties.

Table 1 Operational Track Record of theIAA System

285EBINA Tsuyoshi et al.

In the case of the Western-Fukuoka Earth-quake, at a seismic intensity of six-lower, atremor comparable to the Niigata-ChuetsuEarthquake in terms of seismic intensity hitFukuoka City, and the WWIAA system waslaunched in preparation for secondary tsunamidamage. The system for the Western-FukuokaEarthquake is still in experimental operationas of the writing of this paper. However, it hasbeen discovered that very few are takingrefuge at shelters and other places despite thesignificant seismic intensity. Although wehave so far relied on a seismic intensity offive-upper as a guide for launching theWWIAA system, the seismic intensity doesnot necessarily correspond to the scale ofdamage. It has thus become apparent that theinitial assessment of conditions is importantwhen launching the WWIAA system in thefuture.

7 Commitment in IAA alliance

To present the research results of the IAAsystem to the outside world, the IAA Alliance,a collaborative organization of industry, acad-emia, and government, was launched inAugust 2002, with the participation of variousgroups and individuals engaged in IAA sys-

tem research and development［11］. The IAAAlliance is currently engaged in externaldeployment of the IAA system through thefollowing activities［12］:

- Providing a setting for informationexchange between participating members

- Verification experiments on the efficacyof the IAA system in times of large-scaledisaster in concert with other relatedorganizations

- An educational campaign to promotepublic understanding of the IAA systemthrough verification experiments

- Verification experiments postulatinguser-side operation of the IAA system;feedback of results to further develop-ment

- Campaign for standardizing safetyinquiry systems for disasters

- Tests to ensure that safety inquiry sys-tems for disasters may be interconnected

In recent years, the IAA system’s disasterresponses have been conducted in cooperationwith the IAA Alliance. These activities havehelped gradually raise awareness of the IAAsystem, as witnessed, for example, in theestablishment of a link from the Niigata Pre-fectural Government’s homepage to the IAAAlliance; this awareness is expected to contin-

Fig.7 Progress of Numbers of Registrations and Searches in the IAA System for the Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake (Cumulative Numbers)

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ue to grow.

8 Conclusions

This paper discussed the types, features,and user interfaces available with an IAA sys-tem designed to register and search victimsafety information in the event of a disaster.The paper also discussed the experimentaloperations of the system in response to the

recent Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake, the Suma-tra Offshore Earthquake, and the Western-Fukuoka Earthquake.

The research results of the IAA system arebeing transferred to the IAA Alliance. Goingforward we will focus on an emergenceresponse system and a future framework, aswe also work to expand the IAA system intomore municipalities through the IAA Alliance.

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02 Masahiko Kimoto, “Study on Construction of the Independent Small-scale Network Architecture”, Doctor

Thesis of TITEC, Mar., 2004 (in Japanese).

03 Yukimitsu Izawa, “Study on Structure for Information Circulation Support on Disaster”, Doctor Thesis of

JAIST, Mar., 2004 (in Japanese).

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test-operation, CRL news announcement, Aug., 2001,

05 http://www2.nict.go.jp/pub/whatsnew/press/010831/010831.html (in Japanese).

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victims”, 7th ERCIM Workshop User Interface for All, pp.80-87, Oct., 2003.

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gestion - Torelance”, 2nd Cambridge Workshop on Universal Avvess and Assistive Technology, pp.91-

98, Mar., 2004.

09 Fumiko Matsumoto, Tsuyoshi Ebina, Osamu Takizawa, Kiyoshi Kiyokawa and Hiroyuki Ohno, “A Feasi-

bility Study of a Voice Recognition Interface for the IAA System”, IEICE society meeting 2001, pp.263,

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IEICE general conference 2002, pp.209, Mar., 2003 (in Japanese).

11 A tied-up organization between industry, academia, and government “IAA Alliance” for promoting victim

information registration and retrieval system is inauguration, CRL news announcement, Aug., 2002,

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287EBINA Tsuyoshi et al.

EBINA Tsuyoshi

Senior Researcher, Secure NetworksGroup, Information and Network Sys-tems Departmen

User interface

OHNO Hiroyuki, Dr.Sci.

Group Leader, Secure NetworksGroup, Information and Network Sys-tems Department

Computer Network, Crisis Management

MATSUMOTO Fumiko

Researcher, Security AdvancementGroup, Information and Network Sys-tems Department

User Interface, Security Log Analysis