NCJ Number
199410
Date Published
2001
Length
115 pages
Annotation
This book provides case studies of how geographic information systems (GIS) can be used in all four phases of the disaster management cycle: preparation, mitigation, response, and recovery.
Abstract
In the case of a mudslide in Forest Falls, CA, GIS three-dimensional modeling was used to determine and portray the conditions that led to a lethal flood on a mountain, so as to facilitate preventive measures in the future. The Tutalatin Valley Fire and Rescue (Beaverton, OR) has used GIS to determine where to put firefighters and their equipment based on the locations and activities of people rather than on types and locations of buildings. Marin County (California) is using GIS to analyze vegetation, fuel, weather, assets, and risk pertinent to the prevention and mitigation of wildfires. In other cases presented in this book, GIS is used for disaster management through the use of a personal computer and an Internet connection; for developing and operating an integrated network of fire operations; for coping with rapid growth in an eastern seaboard power corridor; to map an aerial view of a 65,000-acre fire; and to develop plans for transporting people who need emergency medical services after an area's only hospital with emergency services closed.