improving GIS Response for Emergency Management

1. Improving GIS Response for
Emergency Management
Stephanie Oliver
Boulder County Transportation
September 21, 2016

2. Introduction
OEM – Office of Emergency Management
EOC – Emergency Operations Center
ESF – Emergency Support Function

3. Introduction
IMT – Incident Management Team
ICS – Incident Command System
GSTOP - GIS Standard Operating Procedures On Incidents

4. September 2013 Flood
Wikipedia – 2013 Colorado Flood

5. • More than 17 inches of
rain fell in 4 days
• 4 lives lost
• Around 2,000 people
evacuated
• 150 miles of roadway
damaged
• 30+ bridges damaged
or washed away
• Hundreds of acres of
open space and parks
damaged
• Over 50 million pounds
of debris was removed
September 2013 Flood in Boulder County

6. Challenges for GIS Staff
• Hard to reach the EOC
due to road closures
• Road closure
information sometimes
unclear or incomplete
• Worked long-shifts
• Managed heavy work
loads of map and data
requests
• Hard-time focusing on
requests due to amount
of traffic in
GIS/Mapping Room

7. Structure of Response
EOC Manager
Situational
Awareness
Section Chief
GIS

8. EOC Manager
Situational
Awareness
Section Chief
GIS Coordination
GIS Liaison
GIS EOC Support GIS EOC Support GIS EOC Support
GIS EOC Support
(working from
home)
IMT III
GIS Support
Structure of Response
EOC Manager
Situational
Awareness
Section Chief
GIS
Coordination
EOC Manager
Situational
Awareness
Section Chief
GIS
Coordination GIS Liaison
EOC Manager
Situational
Awareness
Section Chief
GIS Coordination
GIS Liaison
GIS EOC Support GIS EOC Support GIS EOC Support
GIS EOC Support
(working from
home)

9. Web Maps

10. Boulder Public Information Map:
http://tinyurl.com/PublicMapping

11. Technical Details
ArcSDE
Incident
Point
Incident
Polygon
Incident
Line
Road
Closures
Layer
Files

12. Feature
Classes
GIS EOC
Support
Public Web
Map
Editing
MXD
Internal
Web Map
Templates Print Maps
Technical interface
GIS EOC
Support
WebEOC
Boulder
OEM.com
ESF input
IMT input
GIS Liaison

13. Symbology

14. 7-0 and GO!

16. Challenges
× Fitting EOC response into normal work-flow
× Gathering GIS staff for training and exercises
× Cleaning up the data in the “off season”
× Addressing technical difficulties
× Limiting “scope creep”

17. The Results
× 25 GIS staff trained for response
× 13 GIS staff responded to the Cold Springs Fire
× Public Information Map is widely used for information dissemination
× Information published is accurate and updated in a timely manner
× Map requests have been filled quickly
× Better communication with other ESFs, especially Law Enforcement,
Dispatch, and Damage Assessment
× Improved communication between GIS staff working for the IMT and
EOC
× Better communications with our community partners

18. Do you want to join us?
× Incident Management Teams need GIS support!
× There are 5 Type 3 IMT in the State
× Only 2 have GIS capabilities currently
× What skills do you need to participate?
× Advanced editing skills
× Some annotation skills – but easy to pick up if you’ve never done
annotation
× Strong digitizing skills
× Analysis on the fly
× GPS download and processing
× Forward thinking
× Willing to work in a “not ideal office” environment

19. Do you want to join us?
× What next steps you should take if you want to join an IMT:
× Take Courses IS-100 and IS-700, available through FEMA
× Read the GSTOP – GIS Standard Operating Procedures On Incidents
× Highly recommend S341 – GIS Specialist for Incident Management
× Review the GISS Taskbook
× You will also need:
× Workman’s compensation
(offered through your workplace or sponsoring agency)
× Fingerprinting and background check
(which will be conducted by your team)
× Supervisor approval

20. THANK YOU!
Special thanks to:
Stephanie Oliver
soliver@bouldercounty.org
720-564-2713
QUESTIONS?
Mike Chard
Amy Danzl
Andrew Notbohm
Justin Bukartek
Francesca Gonzales
Deanna Coffey
Dan Barber (ret.)
Chris Trice
Brent Shafranek
Chris “Fern” Ferner
Brooke Cholvin
David Haines
Cindy Braddock
Mark Mullane
Dave Watson