Lessons ObservedHurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria

Employing GIS for Search and Rescue Operations

SARGIS9

November 6, 2017

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October13,2017

DearInvitee,

OnbehalfoftheInternationalAssociationofFireChiefs(IAFC),NationalAllianceforPublicSafetyGIS

(NAPSG)Foundation,FloridaFireChiefsAssociation(FFCA),andtheFloridaStateFireMarshal(FL-SFM),

wearepleasedtoinviteyoutoparticipateinanin-personHurricaneIrmaSearch&Rescue(ESFF4/9)

GISHotWashandWorkshoponNovember3,2017attheOrangeCountyFireRescueDivision

HeadquartersinWinterPark,FL.

Thisworkshopprovidesanopportunitytodebriefonlessonslearnedfromjust-in-timetraininganduse

offieldinformationcollectiontoolsandincidentcommanderdashboardsforsupportingSARandESF4/9

mutualaidduringHurricanesHarveyandIrma.Theeventisbyinvitationonly.

Weareco-hostingthisworkshoptogaininsightsfromemergencyrespondersthattrainedandused

advancedtechnologytosupportmissioncriticaloperationsanddecisionmakingduringHurricanesIrma

andHarvey.Throughthisworkshopwewillworktogethertodevelopspecificrequirementsneededto

informpotentialsolutionsandtoolsforimproveddecisionmakingbyESF4/9operatorsandleaders.

PleaseconfirmyourparticipationnolaterthanMonday,October30byregisteringonlineat

http://conta.cc/2fZUfRy.ThiswebpagealsoincludeslogisticsinformationandtheworkshopAgenda.

IhopeyouareabletojoinusonNovember3.Ifyouhaveimmediatequestionsnotaddressedatthelink

above,pleasecontactme,CarlaBoyceatNAPSGFoundation,byemailcboyce@publicsafetygis.orgorby

phoneat202-895-1711.

Sincerely,

CarlaBoyce

Manager,HurricaneIrmaSARGISHotWashandWorkshop

Director,NationalAllianceforPublicSafetyGISFoundation

Email.cboyce@publicsafetygis.org

Phone.202-895-1711

Multijurisdictional / Cross Discipline Geospatial Support

• 24hr support for water/swift water rescue (Harvey/Irma) and SAR/wide are SAR (Irma) missions related to recent Hurricanes affecting Texas and Florida• Data hubs• Dashboards• Field collection tools

• Provided geospatial subject matter expertise, virtual training, rapid prototyping, and technical support to FL and state/federal mutual aid teams supporting affected areas• Expanded to support for NGOs

• Support included integrating use of crowd sourced data to drive shared situational understanding across multiple levels of government

• Lessons observed influenced enhancements to dashboards and field tools deployed for Hurricane Irma

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Crowdsource Story Map - with GISCorps and other volunteers. Mix of photos directly from the field and social media.

Crowdsourced Story Map

Hurricane Harvey

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• Examples

• http://bit.ly/HarveyPhotoMap

• http://bit.ly/IrmaPhotos

• http://bit.ly/HurricaneMariaPhotos

• Protocol

• Open Data

• HIFLD4Harvey

• HIFLD4Irma/Maria

Special Thanks to the GISCorps,NAPSG SAR Working Group,Eagle GIS Interns for powering these maps!

NAPSG Foundations

Hurricane Harvey Dashboard

Applications Used in Irma

• Situational Awareness Dashboard

• Survey123 Mobile Data Collection Application

• Workforce for ArcGIS for Mobile Workforce Management

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Survey123

Workforce (browser)

Workforce (mobile)

Dashboard

Workforce (mobile)

Provide responders with a hybrid of approaches handheld GPS + mobile apps

Situational Awareness Dashboard

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Curated static and

dynamic data

Application launched in a

browser

Series of Web Mapping

Applications organized

together with focused

views and functionality

Highly customizable and

easily updatable

Snapshot Damage Assessment Survey

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CrowdRescue HQ: Harvey Rescue Map

6,000+ Facilitated rescues11,360 SOS tweets and Facebook requests500+ Pets and livestock rescues175+ Critical medical requests

253 Facilitated rescues70 Pets and livestock rescues50+ Critical medical requests

CrowdRescueHQ: Irma

Lessons Observed

• In disasters that are “bigger than government” – enable the citizen!

• Keep tools simple and in perspective• Technician, Taskforce Leader, OPS/Logistics, Decision-maker

• Use existing geospatial data (HIFLD, State, Local)

• Provide simple options for the crowd to update level of service and experts to validate.

• Implement tools and technology in day to day operations to promote familiarity and build confidence

• Integrate use of technology and decision-support tools in all training and exercise activiites• Ensure training and exercises include interpreting actionable information and decision making\

– not just pushing buttons

• Collecting incident intelligence through SAR operations must answer essential elements of information for decision makers and feedback to those on the ground

• USNG is a common location language for disaster - use it!