As the official hurricane season gets underway, artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increased role in helping the Department of Emergency Management (DEM) prepare to deal with the tropical blasts.
KPMG LLP Data and Analytics is in its third year as a contractor with DEM, and the projection this year is for a more active season than usual. Bobby Gorantla, a managing director for KPMG, is directly involved with advising DEM officials and local municipalities on how AI can better prepare the local and state governments for a major storm during the so-called "mean season."
"Our goal with AI is to create efficiencies, make predictions, automations and sort of like remove some of the repetitiveness and the fatigue that comes with the (emergency preparedness) job," Gorantla said.
By "efficiencies," Gorantla said the AI programs KPMG is introducing into the state and local response plans are designed to make the flow of response to hurricanes run more smoothly. KPMG deals directly with city, county and state governments. But all those agencies get federal funding following a major strike from a tropical storm or hurricane.
That process involves copious amounts of paperwork that has to be submitted to federal officials. Reviewers then need to validate that paperwork before distributing any reimbursement. AI programs are intended to reduce that workload.
"We're going to reduce the need to look at hundreds and hundreds of pages of paper documents and convert it to some kind of electronic format and then allow us to automatically use a machine to interpret it," Gorantla said.
The AI programs established before storms hit can help eliminate waste, fraud and abuse while also providing more streamlined submissions for assistance. The key is to have the processes in place before a storm hits. That could reduce time spent on clerical duties by up to 30% immediately following a storm, Gorantla said.
This year, at least in theory, could be a hurricane season that might require more preparation than normal. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has projected a busier hurricane season than normal, with 17 to 25 named storms by the time the season ends.
The unusual peninsular state shape leaves Florida more exposed than most states, with coasts facing the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Any state facing a hurricane is usually in trouble. But Gorantla said Florida could use AI assistance more than other states given its propensity to get hit by tropical storms and hurricanes more often.
"I will say that this technology is required here in Florida. The only reason is it's not just about one disaster in one season. ... The (Florida) staff is going to be overworked at (DEM). They have relied not just on subcontractors but also on the need for AI to help them be more efficient. When I talk about efficiency here, it's about, I'll be honest, to avoid employee burnout," he said.
While paperwork is being reduced because of AI, Gorantla said in the early part of hurricane season this year computer programs are being used to conduct simulated responses and keeping response crews aware of what needs to be done when a real storm strikes the coast.
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