Between and , the city was seriously damaged by recurrent landslides and mudslides caused by summer rainstorms. In , an unprecedented flood claimed the lives of numerous citizens and deprived more than 15, people of their homes. One pillar of the strategy focused on incorporating improved data and information and communications technology ICT into existing city infrastructure, while a second focused on policy coordination between government departments.
Creating a welcoming and safe environment for residents and visitors became increasingly important with the World Cup and Olympics on the horizon. This helps the city efficiently manage resources and improve response times. There are three essential structural components to the Rio Operations Centre setup that enable the centre to respond to incidents and manage information:. The Rio Operations Centre is divided into four branches β operations, technology, infrastructure and resilience β under the leadership of the chief operating and resilience officer, who reports to the mayor: [6].
The operations branch acts as the backbone of the entire centre and coordinates city representatives from different departments. In a control room equipped with a video wall, staff can consult real-time data transmitted from sensors, cameras, bus GPS and other sources through a 30 kilometre km fibre-optic cable. With the involvement of private companies, it constructed a platform called Geoportal, which aggregates data across the city. The infrastructure branch maintains the equipment and infrastructure that enables the centre to operate.
When the monitoring system identifies an incident, the operations branch first classifies its intensity and urgency based on a traffic-light system: normal green , warning yellow and crisis red. The chief executive officer of the Operations Centre can then notify and dispatch a field team to tackle the problem depending on its critical level, while the centre continues to monitor and reassess the incident.
Once the situation is resolved, the field team is deactivated and corresponding reports are sent to the Operations Centre Figure Figure 1. Operations Centre incident response Source: Schreiner [9]. The task of coordinating the collaboration of multiple agencies has required the Rio Operations Centre to re-evaluate and reform its procedures to improve information flows, which are fundamental to the success of government efficiency. To maintain a highly efficient information management system, the city has put in place four steps:.
