IS-922.a - Applications of GIS for Emergency Management
Lesson 1: Introduction and Course Overview
Course Welcome
Welcome to the introduction to Applications of GIS for Emergency Management.
This course describes how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) work and how using GIS can improve emergency management.
Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Emergency Management
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a database system with software that can analyze and display data, in a visual environment, using digitized maps and tables for planning and decision making.
Maps and data may be layered, displayed, edited, and analyzed in literally thousands of different ways by careful selection of data-points being considered by the user.
GIS is a very useful tool for many aspects of emergency management including emergency response, planning, mitigation, exercises, homeland security, response, and recovery.
GIS has robust modeling capabilities, allowing its users to adjust data and scenarios for prediction, planning, and estimation.
GIS capability is enhanced when FEMA’s Hazus software and other tools are incorporated.
GIS provides emergency management personnel and decision makers the information they need to make accurate and timely decisions.
This course will introduce you to GIS and the value of using GIS in emergency management.
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a database system with software that can analyze and display data, in a visual environment, using digitized maps and tables for planning and decisionmaking.
Maps and data may be layered, displayed, edited, and analyzed in literally thousands of different ways by careful selection of data-points being considered by the user.
GIS is a very useful tool for many aspects of emergency management including emergency response, planning, mitigation, exercises, homeland security, response, and recovery.
GIS has robust modeling capabilities, allowing its users to adjust data and scenarios for prediction, planning, and estimation.
GIS capability is enhanced when FEMA’s Hazus software and other tools are incorporated. Hazus is a GIS program which produces economic loss and social impacts for earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tsunamis.
GIS provides emergency management personnel and decisionmakers the information they need to make accurate and timely decisions.
This course will introduce you to GIS and the value of using GIS in emergency management.
Course Goal and Content
The goal of this course is to explore how GIS technology can support the emergency management community.
The topics addressed in this course include:
GIS fundamentals and history
How GIS is used in emergency management
Tools available to enhance GIS usefulness
This course is designed for individuals who use GIS to support emergency management mitigation, planning, response, and recovery operations.
Lesson 1 Course Objectives
After completing the course you should be able to:
Define basic GIS terms and concepts.
Describe how GIS is used in emergency management.
Identify two tools that can be used to enhance GIS information.
While the course will not promote specific GIS solutions, it will:
Provide an overview of the types of technology options that are currently available.
Equip you with a list of questions and issues that you should consider when choosing the best solution for your organization.
Course Structure
The course content is divided into six lessons. To help you keep track of your place within the course, the current lesson title will be displayed in the upper left corner of each screen.
Describes procedures for completing this course and presents the course goal, objectives, and topics to be covered.
GIS Fundamentals
Introduces basic information about GIS capabilities.
GIS for Emergency Management
Introduces ways that GIS can be used as an aid to emergency management and decision-makers.
GIS Queries
Introduces the types of queries that are available using GIS and strategies for developing queries.
Specialized GIS Tools and Off-the-Shelf Products
Introduces specialized GIS tools and “off-the-shelf” products that can help you complete specific analyses.
Course Summary
Summarizes the key points in this course to prepare you for the final exam.
Lesson 1 Overview and Objectives
This lesson introduces GIS, describes several uses for GIS in emergency management, and identifies some tools that can enhance the usefulness of GIS information.
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Define basic GIS terms and concepts.
Describe how GIS is used in emergency management.
Identify two tools that can be used to enhance GIS information.
How Did GIS Get Its Start?
Use of GIS dates back to 1854! Dr. John Snow analyzed geographic data to identify the source of a city-wide cholera epidemic in London.
He obtained the most accurate city map available, then plotted the known information about the outbreak. Dr. Snow knew the addresses of the people who had gotten sick and the dates their symptoms began. He also plotted the locations of known wells. By analyzing the information on his map, he was able to identify a contaminated well as the origin of the outbreak.
What Is GIS Today?
Modern-day GIS is:
The hardware, software, and methods that allow people to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present geographically referenced data.
A spatial data-management tool made up of “intelligent” computer maps linked to databases that describe map features.
GIS can be used to generate a wide array of data in a variety of applications.
GIS: More Than a Map (1 of 2)
Most people think of GIS in terms of maps because maps are the most familiar way to visualize spatial relationships. GIS is much more than maps, though. GIS relates different types of information in terms of their spatial relationships and reaches conclusions about those relationships.
GIS allows you to create, manipulate, and analyze data in a wide variety of ways. Imagine being able to do all the things that you can do to organize and categorize data in a spreadsheet or database, but also assign coordinates (specific points in space) to each bit of data. After the data are organized, new relationships among the data can be reviewed on a map.
GIS: More Than a Map (2 of 2)
GIS functions include the ability to:
Create and/or input data.
Modify data.
Store data.
Analyze data.
Output information and maps.
Distribute data and information.
Each of these functions will be covered in more detail later in this course.
Other Emergency Management Uses of GIS
GIS also can support detailed operations-level planning, implementation, training, and resources-related tasks necessary to prevent, protect, mitigate, respond, and recover from any disaster. Some GIS applications include:
Identifying the potential impacts due to an earthquake and assigning inspectors to specific neighborhoods.
Modeling the positive benefits of mitigation to a hurricane-prone community.
Developing secure GIS layers of local city/county critical infrastructure data, including a web application for data viewing and printing.
Available GIS Tools
FEMA has developed many GIS tools that can help personnel at all government levels as well as those in the private sector and nongovernmental organizations. Some of the tools include:
Data sets that ensure the ability to provide customers with critical information.
GIS models that produce maps and other outputs, including damage assessment data.
These and other tools will be covered in more detail in later lessons.
Other GIS Resources Available to Emergency Managers
There are other GIS resources available to emergency managers that have been developed by public and private sources. Some of these resources include:
Customized data sets of local resources.
Maps produced to model impacts from likely event scenarios.
Data collection tools for damage assessment, recording field conditions, tracking the movements of DSAT teams and helping to register disaster survivors.
GIS capabilities are constantly evolving. Emergency managers should keep abreast of new tools that may help with any phase of emergency management.
Lesson Summary
You have completed the Introduction and Course Overview lesson. This lesson presented:
What GIS is and how it has evolved over time.
Some ways in which GIS is used in emergency management.
Some of the tools that are available to enhance GIS usefulness.
IS-922 - Applications of GIS for Emergency Management
Lesson 2 Overview and Objectives
Course Welcome
This lesson introduces basic information about GIS capabilities.
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Define GIS components.
Name and describe two GIS data types.
Name and describe two GIS data features.
Analyze a scenario to identify the GIS capabilities described.
GIS Components
Remember that Dr. John Snow first used GIS to track a cholera outbreak in London. The same components that Dr. Snow used to solve his problem remain the basis of GIS today. Fortunately, computers allow a much greater application of each component.
This lesson will describe how modern GIS uses three main components:
Base map
Input data
Analysis methods and tools
GIS Base Map
GIS allows you to create an accurate map suitable for specific purposes. Throughout the world a vast amount of geographic/spatial information has been collected and stored as "layers" that can be superimposed on each other to create the precise view required.
GIS allows each layer to be manipulated until the desired map is created. These layers can be viewed in any combination and turned on or off to achieve new combinations or connections with other layers.
Typical Base Map Features
A typical base map may include:
Aerial Imagery
Water features (Hydrography)
Jurisdictional boundaries
Infrastructure, such as streets, buildings, rail -- anything that could be considered a key feature or critical infrastructure
Other information, such as zoning boundaries, contours, soil types, anything that has spatial qualities and may be useful for analysis.
The data for each layer are readily available in nearly all areas of the United States by contacting the local GIS vendor that produces and/or maintains them for the jurisdiction.Searching local, state, and national portals of GIS data for downloading.
Input Data
Input data can be collected on almost anything and can be linked to at least one, and usually several, geographic locations. Most input data have already been georeferenced—that is, the data have been linked digitally to a geographic location.
GIS data can be grouped into two categories:
Raster data
Vector data
There are three types of vector data:
Point data
Polygon data
Line data
These data types are described on the next screens.
GIS Data Types
GIS data can be grouped into one of two categories:
Raster data are made up of thousands of individual pixels merged to create a digital image (e.g., a photograph). The smaller the pixel, the higher or more detailed the resolution of the image becomes. Raster data is best used for continuous information, such as creating surface elevations or showing the differences in rainfall amounts over an area, and imagery.
Vector data includes the points, lines, and polygons that represent the locations and/or boundaries of map features. Vector data would be used for applications that require more precision:
Property boundaries.
Showing detailed twists and turns, as in streams.
Depicting roads or utilities.
Identifying exact intersections.
Pinpointing the exact location of an elevation
measurement.
Point Data
Point data include any features that have a specific location on a map. Examples of point data may include:
Locations of key infrastructure (e.g., fire halls, precinct houses, hospitals, shelters).
Community assets (e.g., the locations of road salt or earth-moving equipment).
Polygon (Aggregate) Data
Polygons are depictions of areas, just as in geometry, and are used to depict things such as state and county boundaries, lakes and bodies of water, and areas that have the same properties (soil types, boundaries of tornado damage swaths, areas that flood).
Polygons can be used to aggregate point data by any geography (e.g., census block, city boundary). This results in polygon data that counts the number of data points within each polygon, as opposed to specific locations. This methodology can be used to protect an individual’s privacy by such as when:
Mapping repetitive-loss facilities (protected data) by a unit such as county, so individual locations do not show.
There is not enough information available to represent the data with pinpoint accuracy (such as when mapping patients during an outbreak where patient addresses cannot be used so information analysis, such as by zip code, would be necessary).
The U.S. Census Bureau often releases demographic data in an aggregated form.
Line Data
Line data are used for linear elements such as pipelines. They also may be used to represent simplified versions of features. For example many communities create a road centerline to represent the roads seen on aerial photography. Each road feature segment would include the name of the road and other important information such as it's length, address range, whether it's paved, number of lanes, and road direction.
Each point, line, and polygon area that is used as input data contains information about the feature aside from just its location. These data are dynamically generated and automatically update each time the GIS database is updated with new information.
GIS Characteristics
GIS exhibits three main characteristics:
Location
Temporality
Accuracy
These characteristics are described on the next screens.
GIS Characteristics: Map Projection
When representing the surface of a sphere or other three-dimensional shape on a flat surface, distortion necessarily occurs. To correct for the distortion and create an accurate map, the map projection used to develop each layer must be known.
Regardless of the map projection, all features on each map layer are correlated to those on other layers and can be corrected to visually overlay accurately.
As shown below, there are four ways that map projection can be distorted.
GIS Characteristics: Accuracy
GIS Characteristics: Data Quality
Data quality refers to the credibility and accuracy of the data, and may be quantitative or qualitative
Quantitative refers to the measurable components:
Spatial Accuracy of vector data is defined by scale. The larger the scale, the more accurate the location of any given point in the map is expected to be.
Spatial Resolution refers to the cell size in raster data. The smaller the cell size, the more accurate the data.
Data values (cell values in raster, database values in vector) can be tested for levels of accuracy.
Qualitative quality usually is a measure of how reliable the user believes the data to be. Is it from a trusted source? Has it undergone any quality assurance in it's development?
GIS Characteristics: Digital Orthophotography (3 of 3)
The accuracy of digital orthophotography is determined by the underlying DEM that iit is based upon. Its resolution is determined by the level of sophistication of the equipment used to capture it (camera, satellite, aircraft, etc.). Most orthophotography varies from 1 meter to 6 inch pixels. The 1-meter pixel is less detailed than the 6-inch imagery and is used for very detailed mapping.
GIS Characteristics: Digital Orthophotography (3 of 3)
REMOVE THIS SLIDE
Orthophotography Pixel Resolution
Zoom In
Zoom In Closer
1 meter
Good/medium resolution.
Uses include emergency management, planning, data verification and updates, large-scale analysis, change direction.
Smaller file sizes.
Highly pixelated
1 foot
High resolution.
Uses include emergency management, parcel and utility mapping, data verification and updates.
Larger file sizes.
Medium pixelated
6 inch
Very high resolution.
Uses include detailed project-level infrastructure mapping.
Largest file sizes.
No Pixilation
Using Digital Orthophotography
Digital orthophotography is used to identify specific features (e.g., roads or the outlines of buildings) and to trace them to create other highly accurate individual vector layers (points, lines, or polygons).
The process of creating new layers by tracing on top of the photography is called planimetrics. The image at the right shows how the building outlines have been drawn from the orthophotography.
By creating planimetrics from current orthophotography, analysis and modeling can be facilitated with the data. Without the processing planimetrics, they are only photos.
GIS Database
In vector data, each feature is associated with a record in a table that contains data values describing the feature. Each feature has a unique identifier, which ties it to the correct record in the table.
These tables are relational databases, so the data can be queried in the same way as any relational database. Typical queries include finding values “greater than,” “less than,” “begins with,” “before,” or "equals."
GIS Database
Multiple databases containing a variety of tabular attributes can be joined together and linked to geographic locations as long as there is a unique identifier for each entry that is common to both datasets.
For example, the GIS parcel database can only provide a Property Identification number. Merging with the second database through the common PropertyID address field yields the address, year built, and value of the land and building improvements. This technique allows linkage among increasing amounts of information to locations on the map.
Lesson Summary
You have completed the GIS Fundamentals lesson. This lesson described how to:
Define GIS components.
Name and describe two GIS data types.
Name and describe three GIS data features.
Name some functions of GIS databases
Lesson Overview and Objectives
This lesson will introduce ways in which GIS can be used as an aid to emergency management.
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Describe how GIS is used in emergency management.
Review scenarios to determine how GIS might be used to solve emergency management issues.
Uses of GIS in Emergency Management
Since its development as an automated system, GIS has served emergency management well. GIS can provide the information needed to support decision-making before a disaster. During the early response period, emergency managers use GIS as a key intelligence source for the information they need to make decisions. And as the response moves toward recovery, GIS can identify those in greatest need to manage priorities.
Important data types that emergency managers use regularly will be covered on the next screens.
GIS Map Data
GIS maps can provide a wide array of data for emergency managers, including:
Hazard damage prediction
Repetitive losses
Superfund locations
Shelter locations
How Is GIS Used Within FEMA?
GIS is widely used for emergency management purposes. FEMA’s Mapping and Analysis Center (MAC) uses GIS to disseminate geographic information to Emergency Support Function (ESF) 5, Information and Planning, during disaster operations. FEMA is expanding its use of GIS to provide a full range of GIS services to all FEMA program offices.
Using GIS for Emergency Management
GIS is used to support emergency management—not to change or replace a jurisdiction’s existing Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). While the EOP addresses hazards most likely to affect an area, GIS is a supporting technology to all EOP elements.
Using GIS to support emergency management may require the use of unfamiliar analysis methods. The benefits of these new analyses will be illustrated through brief case studies on the follow screens. To be successful, GIS applications do not need to be highly technical or complex. In fact, simple is better. Whenever there is a need for a diagram or map to improve communication during an incident or emergency, think GIS.
Using GIS for Mitigation (1 of 3)
Mitigation activities seek to:
Reduce the effects of a future disaster
Lessen the likelihood of experiencing damaging effects from an incident
Eliminate the possibility of being affected
GIS provides an easy-to-use tool to help identify both the hazards and the critical infrastructure. Then through analysis, GIS helps with assessment and mitigation of the risks these hazards pose to residents and infrastructure.
Using GIS for Mitigation (2 of 3)
The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA2K) mandated local governments to develop and adopt a Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (MHMP). The MHMP should include a risk assessment and mitigation strategies to maintain eligibility for certain Federal disaster assistance and hazard mitigation funding programs. Communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) must adopt the MHMP to receive FEMA mitigation grant funds.
Using GIS for Mitigation (3 of 3)
The DMA2K requires the best available data to be used in a risk assessment. GIS data and analyses can be used to identify the community’s critical facilities and estimate potential risk. One source of information could be contained in the city and county GIS, which includes roads, municipal boundaries, parcels, and addresses. This information can be linked to assessors’ data to provide building value, square footage, and building use (residential, commercial, etc.) to calculate which assets are at greatest risk.
GIS can also be used to locate and analyze the community’s essential facilities including Community Lifelines, schools, police, fire departments, medical care facilities, and emergency operations centers.
Example: Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for a High Hazard Dam
Hazards posed from dams are classified according to the potential risk to human life and potential risk of economic and/or environmental losses. The EAP includes GIS analyses and data that define the dam breach extent. Orthophotography, local parcel, and E911 address data can be used with the inundation maps to help emergency managers plan evacuation routes for at-risk residents.
Low hazard (L) means that failure or incorrect operation of the dam will result in no loss of human life and very minimal economic or environmental losses; losses are primarily limited to the owner’s property.
Significant hazard (S) means that failure or incorrect operation results in no probable loss of human life. It can cause economic loss, environment damage, and disruption of lifeline facilities.
High hazard (H) means that failure or incorrect operation has a very high risk and can result in loss of human life and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure.
Example: Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for a High Hazard Dam (2 of 2)
GIS Uses for Preparedness
Preparedness encompasses those actions by which team members conduct a risk analysis, develop the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), and take actions to develop and maintain a state of readiness. GIS can support detailed operations-level planning, training, and exercising by:
Developing and conducting training and exercise materials.
Developing lists of detailed GIS data and resource requirements to support emergency management needs.
Developing secure and redundant GIS layers of local, city, or county critical infrastructure data.
Example: Introducing Responders to GIS (1 of 2)
An excellent first step to introduce your responders to GIS is to geospatially enable the creation and maintenance of your existing maps (e.g., fire maps) to support daily emergency management operations. GIS maps can be printed and handed out to responders and volunteers or exported as PDF files for Web download, viewing, and printing on demand, and can even be put online as interactive maps the responders can manipulate to show what they need at any given moment..
Keeping maps up to date and accurate is a continual challenge. However, by using GIS software to leverage the existing GIS base map data layers that are readily available and being maintained by Federal, State, or local government sources, maps can be produced to maintain responder maps more efficiently than ever.
Example: Introducing Responders to GIS (2 of 2)
Following provision of fire maps to responders, tabletop exercises provide practitioners with hands-on experience using GIS activities in an emergency situation.
Many jurisdictions across the country hold tabletop exercises for responders and GIS personnel. Through the tabletop exercises, emergency managers and others are realizing that GIS technology and data are essential to emergency management.
Using GIS for Response
During response, GIS helps emergency managers and responders by:
Real-time mapping to help assess the incident scope, magnitude, and extent of damage.
Coordinating resource management.
Mapping essential infrastructure to support response efforts.
Case Study: Using GIS for Response (1 of 2)
During the 2018 hurricane season, Hurricane Michael struck Florida,
Georgia, and other parts of the south eastern U.S. The hurricane caused fatalities,
damage to structures, flooding, and generated tornadoes.
FEMA, in collaboration with the National Hurricane Center
and State Emergency Management Agencies, created a hurricane incident journal
to educate the public and support response activities.The journal included a map depicting:
Surge inundation
Precipitation forecasts
Hurricane force winds
Case Study: Using GIS for Response (2 of 2)
By mapping the hazard areas on the map along with the population
data from the U.S. Census Bureau, estimated population impacts were created and
posted to the hurricane journal online map.
Damage assessments were categorized as destroyed, major,
minor, affected, unknown, and no damage. This geospatial database of impacted structures
was posted to the damage assessment web application viewer. Other geospatial
products which were generated included:
Communication Lifeline Dashboard to help visualize and report communication outages
Energy Lifeline Dashboard for power and fuel impacts
Recovery includes all tasks necessary to return to pre-disaster function. GIS uses during recovery include developing maps to:
Implement demobilization procedures, coordinate recovery, and restore unused resources.
Provide required documentation for cost recovery to the Federal and State governments.
Support after-action reporting and subsequent planning efforts.
Case Study: Using GIS for Recovery (1 of 2)
As part of New Jersey's recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy, the Department of Environmental Protection developed the city’s Office of Technology developed the Waterway Debris Removal Project to establish zones for waterway debris removal, identify areas in the field with restrictions on mobile devices, and publish online maps to support the hurricane recovery effort.
Case Study: Using GIS for Recovery (2 of 2)
By leveraging the city of New Orleans’ existing GIS data coupled with new field inventory data and imagery collected during the Katrina response and recovery efforts, a number of interactive Web maps were made available to the community so people could see the status or report on their individual homesteads. These interactive maps were directly tied to other online applications so that the reporting and recovery efforts link directly to existing city services.
Other Emergency Management Uses of GIS
GIS also can support detailed operations-level planning, implementation, training, and resources-related tasks necessary to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate any disaster. Some GIS action items include:
Developing and maintaining lists of GIS emergency support personnel with location information, contact information, and specialized skills.
Developing lists of detailed GIS data and resource requirements to support emergency management needs.
Developing secure, redundant GIS layers of local city/county critical infrastructure data, including a set of essential data with integrated data viewing and printing applications.
Available GIS Tools
FEMA’s Mapping and Analysis Center (MAC) has developed many GIS tools that can help personnel at all government levels as well as those in the private sector and nongovernmental organizations. Some of the tools include:
Data sets that ensure the ability to provide customers with critical information.
Maps produced from model output, damage assessment data.
Maps and/or tables from FEMA Human Services, National Emergency Training Center (NETC), National Processing Services Center (NPSC), and Disaster Finance Center (DFC) data.
These and other tools will be covered in more detail in later lessons.
Lesson Summary
You have completed the GIS for Emergency Management lesson. This lesson described:
The types of information GIS can provide.
How GIS can be used to support all phases of emergency management.
Lesson 4 Overview and Objectives
This lesson introduces the types of queries that are available using GIS and describes strategies for developing queries.
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Select the best type of query available to produce specific types of information.
Describe strategies for querying GIS efficiently.
Explain how data sets are used for querying GIS.
GIS Queries
After data have been placed on a map, GIS allows users to sort and filter them in a way that can answer questions about how the data relate to other data.
For example, to find schools located in a floodplain, GIS can be queried and report only those schools that are at risk.
GIS can answer these and other questions through its query function, which is described in this lesson.
GIS Queries
GIS queries can help you answer many different questions. These questions include:
Where is something located?
What locations meet certain criteria?
What locations are within a specific region or area?
What is the safety zone around a location?
Is there a relationship between or among GIS layers?
Has a region changed over time?
This lesson will enable you to develop queries that will provide the information you need from GIS.
Leveraging the power of GIS requires an understanding of the guidelines for forming good queries. The guidelines require queries to:
Be specific.
Use data appropriate for the query.
Creating Good Queries (2 of 3)
Consider the following scenario:
A flood has occurred in your community. A rapid response is required. GIS can help you obtain the most accurate information, but only if you ask good questions about the flooded area. Questions that might yield useful information in this situation include:
What types of structures are in the floodplain?
How many people are in the floodplain?
How many roads have been impacted?
Why? The rationale for asking each question is shown on the next screen.
Creating Good Queries (3 of 3)
The questions developed in this scenario will yield accurate information because:
Knowing the types of structures that are in the floodplain can help generate more questions about these specific structures.
Knowing how many people are in the floodplain can help address the needs of the entire population affected, and also identify whether any people with access and functional needs, such as those living in nursing homes, are at risk.
Knowing the number of impacted roads in the floodplain can help identify whether access routes have been blocked by flooding.
Common GIS Data Sets
Examples of data sets that can be used to make GIS queries easier include the following:
Transportation
Population
Buildings
Utilities
Communications
Land Ownership/Administrative
Environment
Imagery
Dynamic Data Sets
Incident Specific
Incident Command
There may be other data sets that have been developed to address specific jurisdictional issues.
Job Aid: GIS Data Sets
Transportation
Purpose: Identify access routes to an incident, evacuation routes, and other related transportation reference points. Support routing of public vehicles (evacuation/avoidance).
Streets, which are sometimes referred to as a “Centerline File” (name, hierarchy: primary vs. interstate)
Private roads
Traffic control points
Access control points
Road construction
Transportation resources: buses, school buses (with wheelchair access), ambulances
Navigable waterways
Mass transit
Railways
Airports
Helicopter landing zones
Population
Purpose: Identify impacted and at-risk populations.
Primary and secondary mass care centers from existing emergency operations center plans
Essential facilities
Building footprints
Ice arenas (temporary morgues)
Utilities
Purpose: Identify infrastructure that could be damaged or hazardous. Provide guidance for access by responders.
Utility pipelines
Power lines (underground and overhead)
Propane farms
Sanitary sewers
Water treatment plants
Storm water facilities: catch basins, storm sewers outfalls
Fire hydrants
Potable water mains
Public service facilities (public works, water treatment, waste water treatment, electrical plants)
Communications
Purpose: Identify potential communication outages due to the incident.
Cell towers
Radio communication
Siren locations, sound buffers
Main Internet hubs/lines
Land Ownership/Administrative
Purpose: Identify land ownership. These data may be managed by the tax assessor’s office
Address points
Parcel boundaries
Jurisdictions
Environment
Purpose: Identify physical environment conditions that may influence hazard behavior or response.
Topography
Water courses
Lakes
Rivers
Fuel models
FEMA floodplains
Extremely Hazardous Sites and Hazardous Sites (SARA Title 3 sites)
Imagery
Purpose: View pre-disaster images of current features.
Aerial imagery with date
Oblique aerial imagery (e.g., pictometry)
Dynamic Datasets
Purpose: Gain perspective on incident within context of current conditions.
Atmospheric conditions (wind direction, etc.)
Traffic counts/traffic flow
Incident data sets
Incident Specific
Purpose: Visualize location and extent of incident.
Location and extent of tactical area or incident boundaries (point, line, or polygon)
Plume (fire, chemical, etc.)
Earthquake maps (USGS)
Incident Command
Purpose: Identify incident operations sites and zones.
Incident command post
Staging areas
Hot/warm/cold zones
Shelter sites
Decontamination site
Evacuation zone
Police/fire stations
Hospitals/emergency care
Heliports
Airports
Landmarks
Analyzing GIS Data
Even with appropriate queries and good output data, the usefulness of the data will be minimized without analyzing the data.
Analysis techniques are described on the following screens.
Simple GIS Analysis (1 of 2)
For queries that will be repeated frequently but with different parameters within various geographic areas, simple maps can be created. These maps allow the end user to search complex datasets and produce significant results. The map below illustrates the results of a simple GIS inter-relationship.
"The percentage of single parents (<25 years) and Day Care Centers"
Simple GIS Analysis (2 of 2)
GIS also can analyze many different data layers together based on specific criteria, such as to find suitable sites for retail development:
Proximity to utility lines, especially city water and sewer.
Number of residents who live within a certain distance.
What type of roads feed into the sites and how much traffic do they have?
Does my store site adhere to land use?
Repeatable GIS Analysis (1 of 2)
For queries that will be repeated frequently with different parameters and within various geographic areas, simple models can be created. These models allow the end user to rapidly search complex datasets and produce significant results. Some communities have Web sites to generate these simple queries and overlays.
The map shown here is a screen from the Hurricane Evacuation (HURREVAC) model, which is used to help determine whether an evacuation should be ordered.
Repeatable GIS Analysis (2 of 2)
For example, a model may be customized to query daycare providers and younger single parents within a specific geographic area. Assuming the user chooses to display the number of single parents under 25 years old by census tract, the analysis automatically will create a thematic map (color shaded based on number of single parents under 25 years old). The user then chooses daycare centers, which are shown on the map. The relationships between daycare locations to locations of young single parents can be analyzed quickly.
Using a custom community information system, data are dynamically generated in community profiles and automatically updated each time the database receives new information.
Repeatable GIS Analysis. Map used with permission from SAVI.
Using GIS Data
The following example of GIS analysis would potentially be very valuable for emergency managers. In this analysis, the GIS analyst determined which mobile home parks within the City of Indianapolis should receive emergency shelters.
The analyst created a feature layer containing mobile home parks throughout the city, adding attributes denoting the physical condition of infrastructure. This data, combined with a feature layer showing historical tornado paths, allowed the analyst to run a simple analysis that identified which areas were at the most risk of suffering severe damage from a future tornado event.
Mobile home parks determined to have the highest risk were prioritized to receive emergency shelters.
Lesson Summary
You have completed the GIS Queries lesson. This lesson described:
How to develop good questions for querying GIS.
Datasets that can be used when querying GIS.
Different types of queries.
Ways to analyze queries.
Lesson 5: Specialized GIS Tools and Off-the-Shelf Products
Lesson 5 Overview and Objectives
This lesson introduces specialized GIS tools and off-the-shelf products that can help you complete specific analyses.
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
Identify a variety of tools and resources to support your GIS needs.
List specific applications to which you may apply these tools and resources
GIS Resources
There is a variety of Federal, State, and local resources to support GIS needs. Those resources include:
GIS Data Resources
Predictive Analyses
Spread projections
Hazus
Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC)
National Hurricane Center
Each of these resources will be described on the next screens.
GIS Resources: Hazus (1 of 2)
Hazus is FEMA’s powerful risk assessment software program. Hazus is used for analyzing potential losses from floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes. It combines current scientific and engineering knowledge with the latest GIS technology to produce estimates of hazard-related damage before or after a disaster occurs.
Hazus is a GIS software package that uses census data and other existing databases to estimate damage and losses from earthquakes, hurricane winds, tsunamis, and floods.
Hazus contains an extensive inventory of data for every community in the United States that can help users conduct loss estimation in a timely, cost-efficient manner. Hazus also allows users to update and add location-specific data, as well as overlay information about other hazards on the maps.
Use
Hazus has evolved into a powerful tool for mitigation and recovery planning and analysis. An increasing number of States, localities, and tribes are using Hazus in the preparation of risk assessments and mitigation plans under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. Hazus is also being used to support post-disaster planning for recovery from hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods.
Hazus can be used by individuals and organizations with limited knowledge of hazard analysis, as well as by those with extensive expertise in the earth, building, and GIS sciences due to its diverse range of options.
Hazus is used for mitigation and recovery as well as preparedness and response. Government planners, GIS specialists, and emergency managers use Hazus to determine losses and the most beneficial mitigation approaches to take to minimize them. Hazus can be used in the assessment step in the mitigation planning process, which is the foundation for a community’s long-term strategy to reduce disaster losses and break the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage. Being ready will aid in recovery after a natural disaster.
Obtaining Hazus
Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies and the private sector can order the latest version of Hazus free of charge online by visiting the FEMA Map Service Center (MSC) Web Store.
GIS Resources: Hazus (2 of 2)
Hazus analyzes input data to estimate losses. The graphic shown here illustrates the Hazus analysis workflow (from bottom to top) to assess potential risk from hazards.
Each step will be described on the following screens.
Hazus Step 1: Analyze Physical Landscape
Step 1 analyzes the physical landscape, beginning with an assessment of the environment and including factors such as soil composition for earthquakes, terrain changes for floods and tsunami, and land cover for hurricanes.
Hazus Step 2: Identify Hazards
During Step 2, Hazus identifies hazards. For example, Hazus may identify a 5.5 magnitude earthquake, or a 500-year flood event, as being among high-risk hazards for the defined area.
Hazus Step 3: Consider What Is at Risk
After identifying hazards for which a jurisdiction is at risk, Hazus completes an additional analysis to determine what is at risk in the community. For example:
Which buildings would be damaged or destroyed?
Which population(s) would be at risk?
Hazus Step 4: Analyze Social and Economic Impacts
Next, Hazus calculates the estimated economic and social losses that would result if the structures and populations identified in Step 3 were damaged.
Hazus Step 5: Produce Maps, Tables, and Reports
The final step reflects the output of the model, which includes maps, tables, and reports to summarize the analysis results.
Hazus Data (1 of 2)
The Hazus software includes data for every census block in the United States.
Demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau provide estimates of income, population, demographics, occupancies, and housing unit development.
U.S. Census Bureau and Dun & Bradstreet data provide information about the general building stock inventory.
Department of Energy (DOE) data define regional variations in characteristics such as number and size of garages, types of building foundations, and number of stories within a building.
In addition to the above data, Hazus contains site-specific data for Community Lifelines, and essential and high-potential loss facilities.
Hazus Data (2 of 2)
The more local data you incorporate into Hazus, the more accurate your analysis results will be. However, more specific data analysis will also require additional training and GIS resources.
GIS Resources: Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC) Analysis and Data
Decision makers and first responders need timely and accurate plume predictions to help guide emergency response decisions. IMAAC provides a suite of plume modeling tools that incorporate meteorological, geographic and demographic data, as well as hazardous material information, to predict the transport and potential downwind consequences of biological, chemical, radiological/nuclear, and natural releases. IMAAC experts are available 24/7 to produce detailed quality-assured model predictions, utilize observations and field measurement data to refine analyses, and assist decision makers in product interpretation.
GIS Resources: Predictive Analysis (1 of 2)
Predictive analysis is based on models that can be used to predict the spread of communicable diseases, infestations, fire, or other hazards over time and distance following an incident. Wildfire predictive analyses relate the rate of spread to weather conditions.
GIS Resources: Spread Projections (2 of 2)
An example of a spread projection model is Community Flu 2.0, a software program developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that simulates the spread of influenza through a model community, and the impact of a variety of potential interventions (e.g., vaccinations, school closings, wearing of face masks, patient and household isolation/self-quarantine).
No Intervention
Age Groups (years
Total # Ill in Population
Number in Hospitals
Number of Deaths
Days Lost Due to Illness
6-18
61,484
554
5
149,074
19-64
85,268
967
132
155,329
65+
12,019
1,968
1,968
38,148
Totals:
158,771
5,881
2,105
342,551
Days Lost per Person: 0.82
GIS Resources: USGS - ShakeMaps
The USGS creates and hosts ShakeMaps which provide near-real-time maps of ground motion and shaking intensity following significant earthquakes as well as “what-if” earthquake scenarios. These maps are used by federal, state, and local organizations for post-earthquake response and recovery, public and scientific information, as well as for preparedness exercises and disaster planning.
GIS-Based Products: FEMA Flood-Related Products
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was initiated in 1968 to develop Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), illustrating areas of flood risk to communities. In 2002, the data were digitized and enhanced using GIS through a program called Map Modernization, since renamed as Risk Mapping Assessing and Planning (Risk MAP). Risk MAP is a comprehensive plan to deliver quality data that increases public awareness and leads to actions that reduce flood risk.
Risk MAP products described in this lesson include GIS data sets that depict flood changes over time, depth grid analyses, and Hazus flood analyses.
FEMA Flood-Related Products: Flood Depth Grid
The Flood Depth Grid depicts the depth of water for a flood event. GIS data increase flood risk awareness by communicating that risk varies within the mapped floodplain. The Flood Depth Grid also is valuable to emergency managers for planning evacuation and transportation routes.
FEMA Flood-Related Products: National Flood Hazard Layer
The Percent Chance Flood Grid shows the likelihood of flooding at least once within a 30-year period. Because it shows the likelihood that homeowners will experience a significant flood within the period of their 30-year mortgage, it is useful for communicating flood risk to citizens.
GIS Data Resources: FGDC
The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) is an organized structure of Federal geospatial professionals and constituents. FGDC provides executive, managerial, and advisory direction and oversight for geospatial decisions and initiatives across the Federal Government. The FGDC is chaired by the Secretary of the Interior with the Deputy Director for Management, OMB as Vice-Chair. One of the major initiatives of the FGDC is the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The NSDI is a means to assemble geographic data nationwide to serve a variety of users. Therefore, working with any geospatial data from any Federal agency will most likely be a part of the NSDI.
GIS Data Resources: FGDC (2 of 2)
The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) is an organized structure of Federal geospatial professionals and constituents. FGDC provides executive, managerial, and advisory direction and oversight for geospatial decisions and initiatives across the Federal Government. The FGDC is chaired by the Secretary of the Interior with the Deputy Director for Management, OMB as Vice-Chair. One of the major initiatives of the FGDC is the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The NSDI is a means to assemble geographic data nationwide to serve a variety of users. Therefore, working with any geospatial data from any Federal agency will most likely be a part of the NSDI.
GIS Data Resources: FGDC Geospatial Platform
The partner agencies of the FGDC currently are developing a Geospatial Platform to provide place-based products and services to the American public. The Geospatial Platform will be a managed portfolio of common geospatial data, services, and applications:
Contributed and administered by authoritative sources.
Hosted on a shared infrastructure.
The Geospatial Platform is used by government agencies and partners to meet their mission needs and the broader needs of the Nation.
GIS Data Resources: USGS (1 of 2)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a Federal science organization that provides impartial information on the:
Health of ecosystems and the environment.
Natural hazard threats.
Natural resources.
Impacts of climate and land-use change.
Core science systems that help provide timely, relevant, and useable information.
GIS Data Resources: USGS (2 of 2)
There are many GIS resources available through the USGS. These resources include:
National Geospatial Program (NGP)
National Geospatial Partnership
The National Map
The National Map Viewer
The National Atlas of the United States
U.S. Topo
Geospatial One-Stop/geodata.gov
Geospatial Information Response Team (GIRT)
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
USGS Seamless Data Warehouse
USGS Emergency Operations Portal
Lesson Summary
You have completed the Specialized GIS Tools and Off-the-Shelf Products lesson. This lesson described a number of resources that are available for specialized GIS use requirements.
The next lesson presents the course summary and final exam.
