  By the outset of this review, 168 million people needed humanitarian aid, and
the number grew to 235 million by the end of the completion of this review.
There is no time to lose, definitely no data to lose. Humanitarian relief is
crucial not just to contend with a pandemic once a century but also to provide
help during civil conflicts, ever-increasing natural disasters, and other forms
of crisis. Reliance on technology has never been so relevant and critical than
now. The creation of more data and advancements in data analytics provides an
opportunity to the humanitarian field. This review aimed at providing a
holistic understanding of big data analytics in a humanitarian and disaster
setting. A systematic literature review method is used to examine the field and
the results of this review explain research gaps, and opportunities available
for future research. This study has shown a significant research imbalance in
the disaster phase, highlighting how the emphasis is on responsive measures
than preventive measures. Such reactionary measures would only exacerbate the
disaster, as is the case in many nations with COVID-19. Overall this research
details the current state of big data analytics in a humanitarian and disaster
setting.
