Geo-Information in Disaster Situations (GIDS): 6th Edition

The aim of the course is to enable participants to work with basic GIS tools and methodologies in preparation of disaster related maps in support of emergency response operations.

The course is focused on providing insight into various tools available in GIS for situation mapping. Emphasis will be given to understand the concept of GIS and its integration in disaster situations. A central part of the course involves collecting pre and post disaster baseline data from web sources, preparing, and analysing and creating situation maps to support emergency response. Hands on experience with the field data collection tools like GPS, PDA and UAV will also be part of the course.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• Define and describe basic concepts and terminology related to geospatial information technology
• Apply basic methods and functionalities of GIS software (ESRI ArcGIS) to manage and analyse spatial data
• Explain the role of Geo-information in the response phase of a disaster
• Undertake the process of map-making in support of emergency response
• Identify, search, collect, organize and analyse geospatial related information including GIS data
• Apply basic GIS methodologies to perform impact analysis and preliminary damage assessment in the immediate aftermath of a disaster