Major natural disasters are always a surprise in that no one is sure when or where one will hit. But on a macro level, it's no surprise that they will occur, often in parts of the world with little ability to recover on their own or the infrastructure to support multinational relief efforts.
To be ready, the U.S. military, academics and international relief organizations set up a contingency plan called Strong Angel that put information technology at the center of rescue efforts.
When December's Indian Ocean tsunami gave Strong Angel a chance to stretch its wings, however, the tsunami came out the winner. Lack of infrastructure, lack of information and lack of coordination weakened the effort and showed that smart technologists can make bad choices even when the stakes are as high as they can possibly get.
Here's how the disaster and recovery efforts played out:
Introduction: Technology Disappoints in Tsunami Relief Tsunami disaster area defeats best efforts of high-tech relief effort.
Bad Data Nixes Good Planning
Low Expectations Were Still Too High
Technology Wasn't the Only Problem
Even Satellites Lacked Sufficient Reach
Groove: The Humanitarian Tool
Discovering That Simple IT Is Good IT
Real Problems Tougher Than Planners Imagined
Strong Angel Team: Basic Stats
Related Stories:
Can't Tell the Players Without a Program: Who's Who in the Strong Angel Project
Automatic Translators May Be More Trouble Than They're Worth
Comparing First-World Disasters to Third World: Keeping Disneyland Safe
Key Strong Angel Collaboration Tool Absorbed by Microsoft
Wary Partners: How Armed Services Become Rescue Operators
Projects: Processes 
