Abstract
Collaborative Disaster Response: Mapping Flood Levels in New Orleans Track: Disaster Mangagement and Emergency Response Author(s): Yvonne Allen, Ron Goldman, John Osteraas Accurate and timely dissemination of geospatial data in the immediate aftermath of a major disaster is critical. The GIS response to Hurricane Katrina posed significant challenges due to a complete breakdown of electronic communications and the unprecedented spatial extent of the disaster. The USGS National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC) provided mapping support at a number of levels. This talk will focus on the collaborative efforts of USGS NWRC, the FEMA Incident Support Team, and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) to provide actual, predicted, and estimated peak flood levels to planning, military, and search and rescue teams in New Orleans. The ACE provided a basin-specific digital terrain model that was calibrated and updated based on actual pumping rates and ground-truth results from reconnaissance flights. The challenges and pitfalls of providing timely data and support to frontline responders in such an epic catastrophe will be discussed. Yvonne Allen U.S. Geological Survey Gulf Breeze Project Office 1 Sabine Island Dr. Gulf Breeze , FL 32561 US Phone: 850-934-9379 E-mail: yallen@usgs.gov Ron Goldman US Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District 4155 Clay Street Vicksburg , MS 39183-3435 US Phone: 601-631-5023 E-mail: Ron.C.Goldman@us.army.mil John Osteraas Exponent Failure Analysis Associates 149 Commonwealth Drive Menlo Park , CA 94025 US Phone: 650.688.7206 E-mail: osteraas@exponent.com |
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