Abstract

Customized Preparation for the Next Disaster
Track: Homeland Security
Authors: Katrina Simon-Agolory, Kera Watkins

This Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration-funded project introduces Wilberforce University's Information Library Boosting Emergency Recovery System (WILBER), a customized online system that helps governmental agencies, the private sector, and citizens better prepare for disasters, especially technological disasters such as terrorism and nuclear disasters. WILBER has a comprehensive GIS (including imagery, infrastructure, demographic, and environmental data) that allows for improved emergency preparedness by organizations and first responders. It reduces overall risk by providing information prior to a disaster via modeling and simulations. Coupled with real time condition assessment within a distributed system using wireless sensor networks, WILBER creates safer communities before and after a disaster. This paper discusses the process of creating WILBER, its uses, and implementation challenges. Additionally, lessons learned are shared in developing successful partnerships between a university and its surrounding communities. This project is led by the Wilberforce University Disaster Recovery Center in Wilberforce, Ohio.