GMV is using high-resolution optical imagery as a part of emergency management efforts, to map the population and infrastructure of several cities in Turkiye after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The imagery of the aftermath is thanks to Europe’s Copernicus program, which keeps satellites and Earth observation services operational to support management and decision-making in different areas, particularly in the field of emergency management.
The satellite images show the challenge faced by rescue teams and reveal the massive amounts of destruction caused in cities across Turkiye and northern Syria. (Image: GMV)
GMV is one of the suppliers of Copernicus program infrastructure. GMV monitors the database architecture and ensures its integrity, analyzes the data required by the service chains, and identifies the most suitable technologies to keep the entire program operational.
GMV is working with the EU Civil Protection Mechanism’s Emergency Response Coordination Center to keep them updated on the ongoing emergency situation.
For more on the emergency satellite mapping, visit the Copernicus website.
Tenacity of spirit is one of the great virtues. Supporters of geospatial technology have often had to endure steadfast resolve convincing others of the multi-dimensional value GIS provides. It is a battle best won by seeing and doing rather than by words.
Then, in the early 2000s, due in large part to 9/11, the government’s interest in GIS increased.
It was a necessary evolution. Technologies at the time were rapidly advancing. Computer graphics, computer processing power, the internet, shared databases, GPS, digital imagery, and mobile devices needed to merge. GIS was the only solution to bring them all together.
At the same time, disasters became increasingly destructive. Public safety and emergency management needed solutions, but most of the funding is by the government with tight budgets, so investments into geospatial technologies and specialized staff were limited.
A small group of individuals saw that gap and together they began providing support to the public safety sector. The first organization they were able to work with was the National Association of State Fire Marshalls. Word quickly spread. Soon, other organizations began asking for geospatial services.
Eventually, 11 national organizations came together to provide support, structure and purpose for the fledgling team of GIS volunteers. This group became the founders of the National Alliance for Public Safety GIS (NAPSG) Foundation.
Now, 15 years later, NAPSG has contributed to recovery after every major disaster and many minor ones throughout the United States. Its success extends internationally — NAPSG has helped other countries set up their own public safety GIS support teams.
Image: NAPSG
Membership in NAPSG has grown to more than 65,000. Its members are involved in supporting operations for fires, flooding, search and rescue, earthquakes, storm and tornado damage, health crises, chemical spills, and more. They have become central to emergency management operations, helping coordinate efforts of multiple groups through GIS platforms.
During and after events, NAPSG hosts debriefs to evaluate and improve ongoing and future operations. The result advances the field of public safety. NAPSG also provides education to its constituent communities and makes its training available to the public.
NAPSG and its members are highly valued. Every state GIS council has the group as a point of contact. NAPSG is a trusted entity at the community level up through to the highest levels of the federal government, and they are one of the first calls FEMA makes in a crisis.
Tari Martin
I had the opportunity to interview Tari Martin (GISP), the director of national and federal programs, one of the leaders in NAPSG. Speaking with Tari made me realize that GIS is still early in its adoption phase. Tari is one of the founders of GIS at the state level. Earlier in her career she was the first person in the state of Maryland dedicated to supporting emergency management operations.
She helped build Maryland’s emergency management framework coordinated efforts with the National Incident Management System (NIMS), and she began pulling in federal data such as the Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Dataset (HIFLD) for use in local operations.
Now, Tari serves on the Maryland GIS Council for the Public Safety/Next Generation 911 Subcommittee in addition to her regular duties as a director for NAPSG. Tari also serves as a program manager, working to create a universal symbology for public safety and emergency management.
Maps and map symbology are revered. Map symbology emerged from a long, proud, history of cartography dating back to a time before the Golden Age of Exploration when maps were adorned with beautiful, hand-drawn symbols of wind roses, sea creatures, and exotic plants and animals; including inscriptions, such as that within the cartouche of the Typus Orbis Terrarum (Atlas of the World) by Ortelius in 1573. Therein are inscribed the words from Cicero’s Tusculan Disputations, “Quid ei potest videri magnum in rebus humanis, cui aeternitas omnis, totiusque mundi nota sit magnitudo,” which translated means, “For what human affairs can seem important to a person who keeps all eternity before his eyes and knows the vastness of the universe?”
Map symbology has been more an art than a science driven predominantly to support specific purposes, such as navigation, war, surveying, mining, construction and recreation. Additionally, symbologies may not translate across professions, regions or cultures. Even when the symbols are the same, the colors may be different giving symbols different meanings.
Symbols are a visual language, and as the world becomes increasingly smaller and emergency events more international, the need for the language of maps to become universal is necessary. NAPSG has taken on that challenge, coordinating input from multiple stakeholders.
In essence, NAPSG is working with groups like Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) to create the Rosetta Stone of map symbology for public safety and emergency management, and Tari Martin is one of the central figures working on that project. The symbol library is free and publicly available on the NAPSG website.
Tari also reminisced about her early days when she first got into GIS just before Hurricane Katrina, and how many of her co-workers in Maryland mobilized to go down and help out with recovery operations. She stated that was one of the moments in her career that cemented her understanding for the value of GIS in post-disaster operations. Tari now teaches a course on GIS in Emergency Management for URISA.
NAPSG is involved in cutting-edge technologies helping to shape and educate the public safety community. Its members are working with autonomous vehicles, indoor mapping technologies, augmented reality and virtual reality, wearables, and other opportunities as they arise.
NAPSG makes its content available online. Explore its best practices, guidance and standards, education and training, events, qualifications and credentialing, toolkits and more. Become a NAPSG member at no cost.
William Tewelow works for the Federal Aviation Administration. He is a graduate of the FAA management fellowship program and while on special assignment to the U.S. Department of Transportation William led a national strategic geospatial project for the White House Open Data Partnership. He is a Geographic Information Systems Professional (GISP) and a Maryland STEMnet Scholar Speaker. He has degrees in Geographic Information Technology and Intelligence Studies, and is currently pursuing a masters degree in Organizational Management. He was among the first in the nation to earn a Geospatial Specialist Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor while working at NASA Stennis Space Center.
William retired from the U.S. Navy after serving 23 years as a Geospatial and Imagery Intelligence Specialist, a Naval Aviator, a Meteorologist, and a Tactical Oceanographer. He is married, enjoys writing, traveling, solving problems, and is fascinated by new technology and historical context. His favorite quote is, “A man’s mind changed by a new idea can never go back to its original dimension.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is hosting the second Disasters Concept Development Study Workshop July 24-25 at the NOAA Auditorium in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Organized by OGC, the workshop is sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Geographic Data Committee, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other government agencies.
The workshop is part of the OGC’s Disaster Concept Development Study, and will shape future activities to be led by OGC regarding disaster preparedness and response, and to inform development of potential disaster spatial data infrastructures (SDI).
According to NOAA, in 2017 in the United States there were 16 major natural disasters with costs that exceeded 306 billion dollars, shattering previous annual records.
The workshop asks whether more lives can be saved and damages reduced by providing better discovery and access to data that will improve mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery from disasters.
The ability to effectively share, use and reuse geospatial information and applications across and between governments and non-government organizations in support of disaster response and resilience depends on having a spatial data infrastructure in place when disaster strikes.
The OGC is bringing together key stakeholders in the natural hazards disaster communities to advance the emerging Disaster SDI by conducting a study and developing a set of pilots over the coming years. OGC’s Disasters Interoperability Concept Development Study (CDS) will assess the current state of data and product exchange technologies as used in disaster planning, response, and recovery. The information gained in the CDS will aid in developing a series of future pilots that will in turn advance the state of SDIs that support disaster risk reduction across the globe.
For more information on the Disasters CDS Workshop, including the agenda and how to register, visit the event page on the OGC website. Registration for the workshop is free but mandatory.
Esri has released a new web browser application, allowing users to create reporting dashboards that use charts, gauges, maps and other visual elements to reflect the status and performance of people, services, assets and events in real time.
Using dynamic dashboards through Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS, organizations of all types — from emergency operations centers to public utilities — can view crucial activities and key performance indicators that are vital to meeting their objectives.
“The Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communication [OEMC] GIS team has been using Operations Dashboard to support various events with access to real-time information,” said Joe Kezon, GIS manager for the Chicago OEMC. “We are looking forward to the enhancements that will further increase our ability to ensure the safety and security of the City of Chicago.”
With an easily accessible web app, executives can monitor their organizations’ activities to assess what is working well and what needs attention.
“The Emergency Management division of the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications works very closely with our public safety partners and the city’s infrastructure departments in our comprehensive approach to event and incident management,” said Thomas Sivak, deputy director, Emergency Management, Chicago OEMC. “The Operation Dashboard allows us to effectively coordinate among agencies and adjust resources to make Chicago a safe place to live, work, and play.”
Having this type of authoritative data allows decision-makers to reduce the risk of costly errors due to inaccurate or outdated information, better control the allocation of resources, maintain real-time awareness of where assets and human resources are located, monitor conditions live such as weather and traffic, and achieve real-time insight to respond to changing conditions.
“The new Operations Dashboard web app enables, at a glance, decision-making better than ever,” said Jeff Shaner, Esri product manager. “Not only can dashboards be authored online — anywhere, at any time — but the common platform allows greater collaboration among personnel.”
Operations Dashboard also provides a common interface to monitor progress and identify vulnerabilities that could compromise the success of an organization’s mission. Dashboards can be authored completely in a web browser. There is no need to download and install an app anymore.
Users can launch Operations Dashboard by using their ArcGIS organizational account. They can also browse and manage dashboards within their ArcGIS organizational content or on the dashboard home page.
The workshop is part of the OGC’s 