Leveraging Big Data for Earthquake Disaster Response: Insights from Taiwanese Decision-Support Systems from 1999 to 2024

The 1999 Mw 7.6 Chi-Chi earthquake fundamentally transformed Taiwan’s approach to earthquake disaster governance, prompting the establishment of the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction and the institutionalization of science-based decision support. Over the past 25 yr, Taiwan’s earthquake decision-support framework has evolved into an integrated, grid-based system that synthesizes seismic, geological, landslide, and population data sets to generate rapid and reproducible postearthquake assessments. This study provides a comprehensive review of the development, methodological structure, and operational performance of this framework from 1999 to 2024, with a particular focus on its application during the 2024 Mw 7.4 Hualien earthquake. The case study demonstrates that the system enables near-real-time mapping of ground-shaking intensity, secondary landslide hazards, and population exposure, thereby enhancing situational awareness during emergency response. The incorporation of anonymized mobile-network data represents a major technological advancement, allowing dynamic estimation of population movement, and isolation in disaster-affected regions. Comparative analysis between the 1999 Chi-Chi and 2024 Hualien earthquakes further elucidates the role of cross-event calibration and data transparency in strengthening predictive capacity and reproducibility. Collectively, these findings underscore that Taiwan’s institutionalized, data-driven framework constitutes a transferable model for integrating scientific research with decision-making in earthquake disaster management.