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Title:

GIS-Based Disaster Management Systems: A Cogent Data Framework

Abstract:

This paper presents a methodology and technical context for disaster management systems. An infrastructure management information system that combines a relational database, in conjunction with a geographical information system, and graphical storage capabilities holds great promise to facilitate cooperation between various disaster management authorities, to decrease the negative impacts from disasters, and to reduce data gathering and storage duplication across governmental agencies at all stages of disaster management. Success of such a system is dependent upon the ability to access a highly detailed level of information regarding the infrastructure of a city or a region. The collected information needs to be capable of depiction, integration, connection, and evolution. To achieve this, the data must be stored in a centralized repository system capable of being queried graphically and tabularly. This paper presents general limitations of current systems, defines essential features of an appropriate system, and introduces key elements of a framework in which all necessary data can be stored, queried, and accessed. The importance of a cogent data framework is illustrated for a hurricane scenario. Keeping track of increasing flood levels is essential to properly evacuate people and dispatch disaster-response personnel in a timely manner. An evacuation scenario is described to better understand how various aspects of a cogent data framework serve disparate purposes.

Source(s):

85th Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting; University College Dublin (Ireland), Carnegie Mellon University, and Carolina State University. For an electronic copy of this resource, please direct your request to WeatherFeedback@dot.gov.

Date: 2006

Author:

Laefer, Pradhan, Koss

Keywords:


Evacuation
Flooding
Hurricane/Tropical storm
Institutional Issues
Weather information

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