Abstract

ESIT: A Mobile GIS Application for Emergency Operations Planning
Track: Disaster and Emergency Management
Authors: Mukul Sonwalkar, Nigel Waters, Chris Oxendine

Emergency services personnel face escalating threats and uncertainty, as witnessed during recent terrorism related events and natural calamities. Recently, mobile and smart phones have become a viable option for communication between administrators and first responders during such crises. Using geospatial analysis that reduces the risk to personnel in an evacuation zone and a mobile communications tool, emergency services personnel can be better prepared. This research uses street network and trajectory information from cell phone location data combined with a mobile GIS application to build the Emergency Services Information Tool (ESIT), a decision support tool that aids in emergency evacuation and initial response plans. ESIT provides a visual population density estimate for affected areas and determines optimal routes for an orderly evacuation. Evacuation routes to designated safe zones that avoid hazardous areas are determined using ESIT. ESIT provides emergency services personnel with information to increase locational awareness during planning and decision-making.