Four ways GIS improves rapid response to natural disasters

By Jacqueline Legrand, CEO and co-founder of Maptycs

[…]

As catastrophic events continue to rise in frequency and impact, speed and efficiency are at a higher premium. There is an immense amount of information that local authorities, corporations and emergency management personnel have to process and communicate internally and externally: population and staff locations, weather events, property exposure, evacuation resources, supply chain disruptions and public safety services, to name a few.

[…]

Geospatial information systems (GIS) are analytical, data management and visualization tools that are built so the right information can be rapidly understood. For all phases of emergency management — preparedness, response, mitigation and recovery — GIS technologies can improve how we respond to extreme weather events and manmade hazards.

[…]

GIS technologies provide spatial awareness to improve response times for local and state governments, support organizations and impacted parties (e.g., utility companies, manufacturers, real estate, retailers). In addition, GIS helps communicate the locations and best routes to emergency evacuation centers, as well as provide critical information on road closures and at-risk zones.

[…]

GIS frameworks centralize and organize data maintained across a wide variety of agencies, organizations and institutions. Especially when coupled with monitoring devices such as drones or remote sensing devices, GIS can project how the data interacts with one another.

[…]