2004 UC Proceedings Abstract
Hurricane Isabel: Testing Hampton Roads, Virginia's Geospatial Preparedness Track: EMS, Fire and Disaster Management Author(s): Samuel Martin On September 18, 2003, Hurricane Isabel caused Virginia's Hampton Roads' worst natural disaster since 1933, critically testing the region's geospatial preparedness. Isabel left behind $1.6 billion in economic damages, five million people without power, 231 communities with boiled water advisories, and 20 million cubic yards of debris. A Virginia post-storm emergency-preparedness assessment revealed a failed emergency action tracking system, poor communications, inadequately trained staff, and extensive distribution delays. Local, state, and federal government agencies and private industry (primarily the public utilities) all has capable GISs, most built using Esri software. However, the GIS and abundant data resources did not collectively represent good geospatial preparedness and revealed essentially no organized geospatial information infrastructure. The presentation summarizes specific GIS applications and defines critical guidelines for building geospatial preparedness and regional geospatial information infrastructure. The guidelines also support development of regional approaches for critical infrastructure protection (CIP) and environmental sustainability. Samuel Martin Versar, Inc. 305 South First Street, Suite 21 Hampton , VA 23664 US Phone: 757.848.1163 E-mail: srmartinstudio@earthlink.net |
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