Crisis Compliance: Using Information Technology to Predict, Prevent and Prevail Over Disasters

This article develops the concept of crisis compliance (CC)—defined as making appropriate use of IT, and non-IT methodologies to predict, prevent, and prevail over disasters. CC emerges from Lally’s Target Shield and Weapon Model, which is grounded in the theories of crisis management, normal accident theory, and high reliability organizations. CC is then applied to a case study involving Hurricane Katrina, with examples drawn from other recent disasters. Emerging IT-based crisis management initiatives will be examined with an emphasis on how the impacts of Hurricane Katrina could have been mitigated. Recommendations for predicting, preventing, and prevailing over future disasters will emerge from the analysis. IntroductIon: thE IncrEaSE In crISES and It-BaSEd InItIatIVES to coMBat thEM The post 9/11 environment has been characterized by an increasing number of crises. Crisis management researcher Ian Mitroff (2005, p. 3) notes: The number of crises not only is growing rapidly, but of even greater concern, is the fact that the rate of increase in the number of crises is increasing as well. Furthermore the time, and even the geographical distance, between crises is shrinking precipitously. There has been a corresponding increase in public awareness of the potential for crises, not only from terrorist attacks, but from accidental