Sudden-onset natural and technological disasters impose a substantial burden, either directly or indirectly, on the local population and health services. The relationship between infectious diseases and disasters merits special attention. Natural disasters do not occur at random. Geological hazards (earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) occur only along the fault lines between two tectonic plates on land or the ocean floor. However, the local population often does not recognize the implications (the risks), as shown in the December 2004 tsunami in the Indian ocean. To handle and respond to natural disasters, there is a need for timely predicting and recommending rescue plans.
The natural disaster management and rescue operations laboratory will collect specific data using IoT devices, GPS, and field robotics. Floods, thunderstorms, fires, landslides, earthquakes are a few examples of natural disasters in Pakistan. Having some clue of an emergency in advance can help the community development resources to handle the situation. The research objective of this laboratory will be to collect data from various resources related to environmental disasters, earthquakes, flood forecasting, hazard management, pandemics and process it to generate AI-based valuable alerts in advance. Advanced robotics and drone technology can also be used to access the disastrous areas quickly and risk-free to perform rescue operations.