Utilization and Issues Concerning Location Information in Disaster and Infectious Disease Countermeasures

Abstract

The utilization range of location information is expanding and it is expected that its usefulness of application may similarly expand. In Japan, location information was utilized after the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011) and was also incorporated into infectious disease countermeasures. However, issues concerning its utilization still remain. Based on the above background, this paper discusses and compares the utilization of location information in disaster and infectious disease countermeasures. Web-GIS that consolidates various kinds of information on digital maps can play an important role in such countermeasures. Because social media spread globally with the development of cloud computing, social media submissions with local information are easily consolidated on digital maps and efficiently utilized in the countermeasures against disasters. In recent years, as the COVID-19 epidemic has spread, location information has been widely utilized in both infectious disease and disaster countermeasures. However, personal information and privacy must be considered in such countermeasures to prevent the monitoring of individuals using digital tools.