GAASC Spring Meeting
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
9:30am – 3:00pm
City of Columbia Print Shop
Columbia, SC

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In response to a perceived need, GAASC will be holding its annual spring meeting with the theme “Bring Your Public Safety Director to Lunch”, please see the attached agenda.

The speakers during the day will be describing the application of mapping technologies to emergency and disaster response. The meeting will bring together the worlds of emergency response and geospatial technology.

Goals of the event will be:

• Provide educational sessions about the application of geospatial technologies to emergency and disaster response that are applicable to individual responders, operational managers, and support personnel in both communities
• Draw the geospatial professional and emergency response communities together in an effort to improve communication between the two groups
• Foster a better understanding between the two communities of the roles and responsibilities of each
• Encourage and assist the communities to maintain an ongoing dialogue so that all are better prepared to assist and achieve maximum efficiency in times of disaster and emergency

Currently this is a member’s only event and each member can bring up to two guests. If you would like to bring more please let me know.

Please RSVP no later than April 9^th so we can get an accurate head count for lunch, you plus your guest(s), please indicate turkey, ham, roast beef or veggie…..it’s free if you RSVP.

Agenda

9:30-10am – Welcome & Announcements

10-11am – Overview of HAZUS-MH and an Update on the State’s CDMS (Local Data for HAZUS) Project
Melissa Berry, EMD (presentation)

HAZUS-MH is a powerful risk assessment methodology for analyzing potential losses from floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes. In HAZUS-MH current scientific and engineering knowledge is coupled with the latest GIS technology to produce estimates of hazard-related damage before, or after, a disaster occurs. The accuracy and value of these estimates can be increased by supplementing the base data with more accurate local data. This presentation will provide an overview of HAZUS-MH and  discuss the SC Emergency Management Division’s project to supplement their data with local data from the counties and cities.

11am-12pm – Geospatial Tool Use in the EOC in York County; National Guard and County Government Perspective
Bryan Townsend, York County (powerpoint); Barbara Mesaros and Guy Alexander, SC National Guard (presentation)

(Note:  Here is in updated version of this presentation from 6/23/2010 at “CGITA/CURISA Water/Wastewater” focusing on the use of ALOHA)

There is a growing awareness for the need of geospatial tools within the emergency response community. GIS staff have been called to participate in two EOC events in York County. The first was a chlorine release incident in 2007, the second was a March 9, 2010 bi-annual drill required by the Federal regulators to ensure we are prepared if our local nuclear plant were to have an incident. Lessons learned from both events will be discussed, specifically the use of Aloha plume modeling software, USNG/MGRS, Pictometry, an ESRI FLEX viewer, and Google Earth. We will also describe a collaboration opportunity with the SC National Guard that allowed us to demonstrate data interoperability, standardized symbology (FGDC HSWG) and the ways regional-statewide partnerships offer perspective and are our most valuable assets  in emergency response.

12-1pm –Creating a Daily Situational Awareness Viewer for Public Safety
Mark DePenning and Carmen Durham, City of Greenville (Presentation)

The City of Greenville public safety officials are charged with daily monitoring current conditions and potential threats that could impact their ability to effectively respond to a variety of incidents. The current method is a challenging task in coordinating and communicating condition derived from a variety of information sources including web, email,
and paper memos. The Daily Situational Awareness application provides a GIS based solution by consolidating disparate real or near-real time data feeds onto one common map which is shared within the organization as well as the public.

Lunch – to be provided

1-3pm – Public Safety Succeeding Through GIS
Brain Hood, Lexington County; Gary Loflin, York County; Tony Bradshaw, BCS

Panel discussion focusing on Public Safety and GIS working together.

• Lexington County’s EMS Coordinator- Brian Hood will describe his responsibilities and how
  he uses GIS for pre-hospital care.
• York County’s Public Safety Communications Director – Gary Loflin  will discuss his experiences at  York County as a GIS Manager,  IT Director and now Public Safety Communications Director
• BCS President, Tony Bradshaw will share his experiences working with Public Safety Agencies throughout the country.

3pm – Adjourn

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