The devastating 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Al Haouz, Morocco in 2023 prompted critical reflections on global disaster management strategies, resulting in a post-disaster hackathon, using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. This paper provides (i) a comprehensive literature review, (ii) an overview of winning projects, (iii) key insights and challenges, namely real-time open-source data, data scarcity, and interdisciplinary collaboration barriers, and (iv) a community-call for further action.

When a disaster strikes Indonesia, residents may well log onto social media before taking shelter. Posts tagging the PetaBencana initiative with a reference to the disaster – be it due to a flood, earthquake, or volcanic eruption – will prompt a chatbot to appear with a link to the PetaBencana platform. Users can then share their location, photos of any visible damage, and details like flood depth. Indonesian government agencies then validate these crowdsourced situation reports, using the data to coordinate emergency response measures. Residents can also consult the resulting collaborative map in real time to make informed decisions about their safety and security.

Meteorologists are aiming to use AI to help them get an edge in early detection and disaster relief in response to natural hazards and disasters, which according to scientists have become more frequent and unpredictable due to the impact of climate change. In response, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) together with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and UN Environment, have launched a Focus Group on AI for Natural Disaster Management, according to a recent account from MyITU. ITU scientists see that Al shows great potential to support data collection and monitoring, the reconstruction and forecasting of extreme events, and effective and accessible communication before and during a disaster. The ITU, founded in 1865 to facilitate international connectivity in communications networks, is today a UN specialized agency with 193 member countries and a membership of over 900 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations. The group recently held its first Focus Group on AI workshop meeting.

The United Nations Agencies are tackling natural disaster management using artificial intelligence (AI) with a new 2021 Focus Group on AI for Natural Disaster Management (FG-AI4NDM). The ITU focuses on information and communications technologies (ICT) and their support of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As noted by ITU, "facilitate international connectivity in communications networks, we allocate global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develop the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strive to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide. Every time you make a phone call via the mobile, access the Internet or send an email, you are benefitting from the work of ITU." Relatable standards work would be in video compression (H26X series), phone area codes, performance standards in AI for healthcare, the phonetic alphabet used in radio communications, and the term "Internet of Things (IoT)" was originally coined by the ITU. As noted by WMO, "behaviour of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the land and oceans, the weather and climate it produces, and the resulting distribution of water resources."