—Brian Crumpler, Virginia Dept of Emergency Management
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Over the past year, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) GIS Branch has implemented an applied framework for geospatial information management within the emergency management context. Providing geospatial awareness and support to emergency managers is at the core of GIS Services for Disaster Management. At the core of emergency management lies the protection of lives and property from the impacts of natural and manmade hazards. Traditionally it has been hard for GIS to keep up in the fluid situations presented in the emergency management field. In the dance that occurs during incidents, GIS can appear to have two left feet when an incident causes emergency managers to change direction in an instant, leaving GIS professionals scrambling to catch up. By incorporating themes from both fields, VDEM has effectively created a common operating framework that addresses primary themes in emergency management (real-time/operational resources, facilities and demographics, operational planning, and hazard identification). This framework also incorporates existing GIS workgroups and projects (NSGIC, HIFLD, HSIP) as well as existing training material for emergency managers (NIMS, ICS, Emergency Planning). By implementing the framework described in this presentation, VDEM has created an environment through which GIS professionals are now able to better anticipate the "next step" in the dance, thus improving our level of service to our customers in emergency management.