The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that biological and natural hazards intersect with each other and increase the complexity of overall disaster impacts on populations and economies. But disaster management and risk analytics have been slow to capture the intersections of natural and biological hazards or capture the dimensions of interconnectedness and cascading effects to the social, economic, and environmental ecosystems.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation and underscored its importance for mitigating the economic slowdown, sustaining wellbeing, and speeding up recovery. Governments, smart policymaking, as well as regional cooperation play an essential role in helping to both enable digital transformation to occur and in facilitating access to technology.

Strategies for managing disaster risk currently rely on weather forecasts (daily to 10 days) and seasonal predictions (three to six months). Until recently, the subseasonal scale (defined as timescale from two weeks to two months) has been considered a "predictability desert" because it has not been possible to provide accurate predictions for this timescale. As a result, many preparedness activities are held off until short-range weather forecasts indicate that a hazard is imminent and the exact location is known, so that resources are not wasted in the case of a false alarm.

The Asia-Pacific E-Resilience Toolkit offers insights into a spectrum of available ICT tools and best practices that may benefit policymakers in the Asia-Pacific region to enhance e-resilience and disaster risk management. The summary report will be updated when new policies/best practices are available.

The report can be downloaded at: http://drrgateway.net/sites/default/files/pdf-2018/Asia-Pacific%20E-Resilience%20Toolkit%20REPORT.pdf

The GSMA Disaster Response Innovation Fund can provide funding to help you to test or scale it. We are looking for ideas that use mobile technology to assist and empower individuals or communities affected by humanitarian emergencies, or to strengthen prevention, preparedness and response in disaster contexts.

Funding of up to £300,000 per project is available, as well as promotion and networking opportunities. We fund either: Seed Projects to test new products or services; or Market Validation Projects to replicate proven products or services.