The Role GIS Played in Emergency Response During 2008 Iowa Floods
Roughly 54 people attended the Eastern Iowa GIS Users Group meeting on July 17, 2008 at the Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center just outside Cedar Rapids. The afternoon session focused on the use of GIS during and after the recent flooding events. Rick Havel, GIS Coordinator for Johnson County, Iowa, and Jason Siebrecht, GIS Coordinator for Linn County, Iowa, started the discussion with their recent experiences. Quickly others joined in with comments about their own experiences, questions about what others did or learned, and ideas about what might be needed in the future.
Here are some interesting points that were raised:
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- GIS staff generally have not been included in training exercises and the emergency operations center when used.
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- Printing maps during the flooding was a problem in several instances. Either there were problems with hardware “talking” to each other (i.e. lacking the proper printer driver on a laptop), or problems due to the sheer volume of paper maps needed.
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- Current aerial photos are extremely important in order to see exactly what is where. Outdated photos have items that are shown but no longer there, or are missing new structures.
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- LiDAR data was extremely helpful.
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- GIS can be used during the actual response, but is also useful for damage assessment after a disaster.
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- River gauges were helpful in monitoring activity and estimating water levels. Historical river level data was imperative during the flooding. Knowing what the water level was in the 1993 flooding and which roads were closed at that time helped to estimate which roads might close this time.
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- Simple directional maps were critical to assist out-of-town responders.
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- Many expressed an interest in collaboration during future disasters. GIS professionals in an area that is unaffected by the disaster are interested in getting to that area to assist, or assist remotely if that is possible.
- The need for a data inventory (who’s mapping what) and a data repository seemed clear.
All in all it was a very lively and exciting discussion. It sounds like relationships between emergency management/response and GIS professionals will be built. Clearly there is a need for accurate, current data and a means to share that when needed. The ICIT Data Repository and IGIC’s proposed IGI should accomplish the goal of sharing the data. Now to get an inventory done and documented and get current, high resolution for all of Iowa… We’d be ready for next time. (Here’s hoping next time never comes.)
