Title: The role of telecommunication in the rescue process of large scale disaster – case study of China's WenChuan earthquake in 2008

Authors: Xiaoqing Li

Addresses: College of Business and Management, Department of MIS, UHB 4024, University of Illinois at Springfield, One University Plaza, Springfield, Illinois 62703-5407, USA

Abstract: On May 12, 2008, a strong earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale struck Wenchuan County in Sichuan province, which is located in the southwest of China. During the rescue process of this large scale disaster, modern telecommunication played a very important role. To identify the key roles of telecommunication in the earthquake rescue process, this paper reviews the rolling news reports about the rescue efforts in the first week after the earthquake (May 12-19, 2008). The purpose of this case study is to facilitate discussions among researchers and practitioners about the future applications of telecommunication technologies in the large scale, disaster rescue process.

Keywords: telecommunications; disaster rescue; earthquakes; China; WenChuan earthquake; emergency rescue; rolling news; internet; online news portals; telecommunication support; cell phones; mobile phones; mobile communications; satellite phones; information sharing; knowledge sharing; telemedicine; emergency management; disaster management; crisis management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNVO.2011.040934

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 2011 Vol.9 No.1, pp.44 - 57

Published online: 21 Feb 2015 *

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