Smart Alerts, Safer Futures: Using AI to Protect Women During Climate Disasters:
- Nowshin Tabassum Taheri
- Oct 7
- 4 min read
AI-powered alerts can help vulnerable women prepare before disasters strike.
When a cyclone occurs coastal Bangladesh or when sudden floods strikes a village, women are usually the first to face the several challenges. Many are responsible for children, the elderly, and household tasks, which makes evacuation slower and more difficult. According to the United Nations (2014), women and children are up to 14 times more likely to die in disasters compared to men. This massive statistic shows us one thing that, disaster management must be gender-responsive.
Today, artificial intelligence (AI) comes up with a powerful tool to change that story. While most discussions around AI and women’s safety focus on online harassment or digital abuse, a new borderline is arising: AI for women’s safety during climate-related disasters. In a world where both climate change and gender inequality shape survival, this intersection deserves urgent attention.
The 1991 cyclone that hit Bangladesh was one of the mortal tropical cyclones ever recorded, killing an estimated 140,000 people and left millions homeless. If we go through the statistics we can see that women's death rate is higher than men because of the social norms restricted them from leaving homes without male permission or lack of swimming skills. Even today these inequalities exists. During Cyclone Sidr(2007) and Cyclone Amphan (2020), women in vulnerable community reported that they received warning too late or did not know where safe shelters were located.
Disaster mortality by gender: women face higher risks due to delayed warnings, access limitations and societal obstacles.
The findings indicate: lack of access to timely, reliable information puts women in higher danger. But this is exactly where AI can be utilized.
How AI Can Protect Women During Disasters:
AI is not just about robots or futuristic machines, it is already being used to save lives. In Bangladesh, AI-driven health monitoring systems have been piloted to reduce maternal deaths by predicting high-risk pregnancies (Lloyd’s Register Foundation, 2023).If the same forecasting ability is applied to disasters, women in vulnerable community could receive modified alerts directly on their phones, even in local vernacular.
Potential areas of application include:
1. Smart Early Warning System: Artificial intelligence (Al) can help to presage disasters like floods and cyclones more rapidly and precisely than traditional methods. It does this by observing a lots of information simultaneously, for instance satellite pictures
of atmospheric clouds and rivers, weather reports and how rivers are flowing. Envision a mother in Satkhira receiving an Al-generated voice message warning her to evacuate, delivered in Bangla or the local vernacular and tailored specifically to her village.
2. Safe Shelter Mapping:Artificial intelligence (Al) can be used to map shelters and designated evacuation pathways that are gender sensitive (with separate spaces, toilets, and security). During Hurricane Harvey in the U.S.,over 42,000 people appealed for shelter, 40% of whom were children and babies. A gender sensitive Al system could emphasize mothers and children while distributing safe spaces.
3. Crisis Hotlines Powered by AI:Women recurrently deal with harassment in congested shelters. Al-based conversational agents and hotlines could deliver confidential ways to report abuse, helping authorities respond promptly to ensure safety.
A Bangladesh Example: Floods and AI
Bangladesh endures annual flooding, forcing the relocation of millions. Reports show that women, especially pregnant women, experience severe health risks during these events. Throughout the 2017 floods, over 7,00,000 homes were damaged and thousands of pregnant women were left without access to medical care.
Conceptualize a situation where Al systems could combine flood forecasts with health data. Women at risk could be detected promptly, connected to mobile clinics or guided to safe shelters. This would not only preserve lives but also dignity and reduce suffering.
Global Lessons, Local Action:
On a global scale, Al is already making a disparity. In India, AI-based flood anticipating systems are helping to predict floods in vulnerable community. In the Philippines, AI-driven tools are being tested to monitor typhoons and develop evacuation frameworks.These studies show us that technology works, but the central difficulty is in ensuring that it reaches the most vulnerable women in countries like Bangladesh.
International organizations are now comprehending this need. The United Nations (2014) highlights that merging gender into disaster risk reduction is essential. By integrating AI innovation with women centered approaches, countries can achieve both technological evolution and social justice.
Challenges We Must Overcome:
While the potential is huge, there are real challenges to consider:
● Digital Divide: Many rural women do not possessed smartphonesor have access to the internet. AI solutions must work through simple SMS or voice messages.
● Privacy & Security: Data collection about women must be protected to avoid misapplication.
● Inclusivity: Women must be included in structuring these systems, so the tools engage with their real needs.
Towards Safer Futures
Technology alone cannot solve gender inequality, but it can help to close fundamental gaps. AI is not just a tool for pioneering method, it is a chance to build safer futures for women enduring disasters. When forecasting systems warn mothers before floods, when shelters are mapped for their safety, and when their voices are heard in disaster planning, women are no longer passive victims, they become resilient survivors.
As climate disasters increase in magnitude, we must ask: will we let technology expand inequality or will we use it to generate resilience? The answer lies in how firmly we choose to act.
Smart Technology. Stronger Women. Safer Communities.
References
Lloyd’s Register Foundation Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk. (2023, November 29). AI potential to reduce pregnancy deaths in Bangladesh. Lloyd’s Register Foundation. https://www.lrfoundation.org.uk/news/ai-potential-to-reduce-pregnancy-death s-bangladesh
United Nations. (2014, March). Gender and disaster risk reduction (CSW58 Panel Discussion Paper). United Nations Women Watch.
The Writer's Profile
Nowshin Tabassum Taheri
Student ofInstitute of Disaster Management and
Vulnerability Studies ,
University of Dhaka
Author Bio:
A disaster management student from Bangladesh, passionate about gender equality and climate resilience. Focused on leveraging AI and technology to enhance women’s safety during disasters.
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