Presentation to MAGIP on SARGIS

Event

On February 8th, 2017 the NAPSG Foundation provided a virtual workshop for the Montana Association of Geographic Information Professionals (MAGIP) and local search and rescue team members.  While MAGIP attendees attended on-site (Bozeman, Montana), they also extended the invitation to the Public Safety GIS and SAR Community to attend via WebEx. You can watch this presentation here via WebEx video.

The objective of this presentation was to foster exchange between the Geospatial Professional and Search and Rescue Communities by providing an overview of capabilities with geospatial decision support tools and building a common language. 

We feel we have achieved this objective. As a result of this event, the local SAR Teams and GIS Professionals plan to meet more regularly, share data, and train on using geospatial decision support tools for search operations. In addition, the audience agreed they would like to participate in future SARGIS workshops, including the 9th Annual Search and Rescue GIS Workshop (SARGIS9 - November 2017, Rocky Mountain Region). 

Resources

We used the SARGIS8 Training Story Map to guide the presentation and discussion. This website includes downloadable tutorials and interactive examples to show your local SAR Team. You can access this free training resource here: http://bit.ly/BasicSARGIS

In addition, the case-study we used to kick-off the event was based on a group of photographers who were stranded in the mountains north of Bozeman, Montana. Geospatial intelligence was critical in this mission and the Story Map allows us to review the mission and learn from it.  You can access this interactive Story Map here: http://arcg.is/2lmtuaC

For information about GIS for Search and Rescue and to begin developing geospatial decision support tools for your SAR Team, see the Wilderness Search and Rescue Capability and Readiness Assessment Tool (CARAT).

Special thanks to Curtis DeVault of MAGIP, Angela Pervél of NAPSG Foundation, and Don Ferguson SARWG Co-chair for helping to make this event possible despite my crazy schedule and presenting remotely from New Zealand.

Port Hills Fire in New Zealand

Here in New Zealand we have had a few especially strong wildfire events. One, the Port Hills fire burned in the wildland urban interface and led to damaged structures and evacuations. This is common in the US and Australia but much less so here in the more temperate and moisture rich islands. 

As such, fire and emergency management agencies are only just beginning to realize the importance of public information maps in these situations. Fortunately, Canterbury Maps, the GIS Team at Environment Canterbury were able to step in on their first day of activation and stand up a Public Information Map for the community. They did this using WebGIS via ArcGIS Online. This map is cloud-hosted and able to handle the heavy load of viewers in emergency situations. 

Radio New Zealand was the first to pick this map up and share authoritative information in an article and they deserve recognition as well. Well done to all involved - especially the first responders doing their best to protect lives and property. 

MRA Mapping Hangout #5 - Snap2Map

This month we had some audio issues with our Google Hangout, but I did go back and record my Snap2Map Demonstration embedded below. 

Snap2Map is a really simple way to make a map with interactive geo-tagged photos. This can be used for a wide variety of applications. For SAR the use-case we are exploring with the YSAR Tauranga is using the Map Tour to create SAR PrePlans. A Map Tour could include photos and videos to highlight:

• Hazards in an area 
• Landing zones for helicopters 
• Missing "decision points" on a trail
• Any intelligence that you would like to capture with a map and photo!

Here is the free Snap2Map Tutorial by Jennifer Lentz if you would like to get started. It walks you through the following steps. 

1. setting up and logging into an ArcGIS Online (AGOL) account
2. downloading Esri's free Snap2Map app (available for free on Android and Apple-based smart devices)
3. downloading a GPS tracking app (optional)
4. Connecting your Snap2Map app to your organization's AGOL account
5. Selecting the geo-tagged photos you'd like included in your story map, and publishing them to the story map through the Snap2Map app
6. Editing your story map on a computer, including changing the basemap, color scheme, etc.
7. saving the story map
8. editing the information provided in the "details" page of the Web Map, including change the thumbnail image, and sharing preferences
9. adding tracking data to your story map (optional)
10. viewing the finished Story Map 

Thank you to YSAR Tauranga for the inspiration - I look forward to seeing your end product and seeing if any Mountain Rescue Association Teams pick this up and try it out. 

MRA Mapping Hangout #4

This week we gave an update on the MRA Mission Data Portal. So far, 251 Missions entered for 2016!

Then we moved on to the Map of the Month: Severe Weather Public Information Map from Esri Disaster Response Program.

The tutorial this month described how to create a Clue Log Geoform web mapping application. You can access the tutorial from the MRA Mapping homepage.

Finally, we heard from new MRA Mapping Volunteer Morgan Moe on the Mountain Med Online (http://mountainmedonline.com/) and how you can get access to the FREE Map and Compass Navigation 101 Online Course.

If you could not make it, the video is embedded and linked below. You can follow MRA Mapping to view archived videos or stay up to date on future events (Mapping Hangouts are the 2nd Tuesdays of the Month). 

MRA Mapping Hangout #1

The NAPSG Foundation and the Mountain Rescue Association have partnered up to do a "Mapping Hangout" once per month to discuss the MRA Mapping Portal. For more information on the MRA Mapping Portal, see this recent webcast from the PMI Webinar Series.

In this Mapping Hangout we reviewed how to use the MRA Mission Data Portal and covered a special topic - How To Make A Public Map. You can download the tutorial here: http://bit.ly/MRATutorial1

The first Hangout had a technical glitch and did not broadcast, so here is a shorter version I recorded alone immediately after.

Below is a simple example of an embedded map from this tutorial.

And here is a web mapping application using the Public Information Map template, created by Jon Pedder from Sierra Madre SAR.

Tropical Storm #Haiyan / #YolandaPH map resources

View Larger Map of tweets validated through the MicroMapper platform and mapped by GISCorps. For more maps and apps click through the gallery below. 

As Tropical Storm Haiyan / Yolanda makes it way into mainland Asia, the relief efforts are fully underway in the Philippines. I wanted to take a moment here and point out some maps and resources that may be of interest to the Search and Rescue community. 

• The Digitial Humanitarian Network website
• GISCorps Online Maps website
• iRevolution / MicroMappers blog
• Humanitarian Open Streetmap website
• MapAction Map Gallery
• FEMA GeoPortal 

The CrisisMapping community is serving the United Nations OCHA and UNDAC Teams with up to date information from a wide variety of sources to provide situational awareness and up to date base data for their maps. Check out these sites and the maps below for more information. We will learn a lot from this event and please keep the Search and Rescue and other teams in mind as they are currently engaged in life saving operations.

Here is a partial list of data sources: 

·        Schools and Hospitals (OSM)

·        Urgent Need Tweets (GISCorps as of Nov. 10th PM)

·        Hot Spot Analysis on Urgent Need Tweets (GISCorps)

·        Maximum Storm Surge (NOAH)

·        Admin Boundaries

·        Storm Signal (Geodata Systems, Inc)

·        Post-event imagery (Astrium / Pleiades, Nov 11th)

·        Cloud cover (NASA, Nov. 9th)

·        Damage assessment layers (USG / NGA)

·        Damage assessment layers (Copernicus / UNOSAT)

·        Active Hurricanes (NOAA / NHC / CPHC/ JTWC)

·        Weather Stations (NOAA)

·        Recent Hurricanes (NOAA / NHC / JTWC)

·        Recent earthquake (USGS)

·        Evacuation Centers and Command Post (KML)

·        OpenStreetMap

#MapSAR and Disaster Response in Australia

Well I am down here in Australia and enjoying my time meeting with Public Safety agencies around the Country. My first stop is in Sydney to meet with Esri Australia and some New South Wales personnel interested in using GIS and ArcGIS Online for Bushfires and Missing Person searches. Next stop is Melbourne for the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council meeting. Then on Friday I am headed to Brisbane for Ozri 2013 to meet with GIS users that support emergency management agencies in Australia.

Check out my map to stay updated!



View Larger Map

#RimFire in Yosemite continues to burn - highlighted on our US Wildfire Map

The Rim Fire continues to impact nearby communities, Yosemite National Park, and the San Francisco Power Utilities Commission. You can use this map to track updates on the fire and also see some of our maps that are available through the Esri Disaster Response Program website. For continuous updates from firefighters themselves, go to the CA-STF-Rim Fire forum thread on Wildlanfire.com. 

View Larger Map