Abstract

Improving Awareness during Flash Flood Events Using Smart Map Applications
Track: System Implementation for GIS
Authors: Harish Sangireddy, Fernando Salas, David Maidment, Tim Whiteaker

Each year in the United States flood disasters cause over $2 billion in damage and affect millions of people. Proactive behavior by both emergency responders and citizens can mitigate risk and vulnerability of residents and infrastructure during flood events. Smart map applications can facilitate providing knowledge to the public by effectively conveying information that can lead to actionable intelligence. Using tropical storm Hermine as a case study, the Texas Flash Flood Coalition has created an application that assimilates vital hydrologic information available through both public and emergency channels within the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) by utilizing ESRI's Situational Awareness template, ArcGIS Online, and standard web services. This paper presents a map application and describes the framework for seamlessly integrating web and data services provided by national public agencies like the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and local networks like the City of Austin Flood Early Warning System (FEWS).