Using Public Participation GIS for emergency response
The use of smart phones and
tablet PC’s is prevalent in modern society and their application is evolving to
support activities in many areas of life. It was not long ago where we could
not fathom the thought of being able to access our email, take photos or send
video calls; all from the palm of our hand – now, many of us cannot fathom the
thought of not being able to do this.
We have the digital world at our
fingertips. It is this accessibility that delivers great potential to provide
decision making support at times of emergency. When the severe weather events
of Australia Day 2013 hit Queensland; social media was overwhelmed with situational
updates from media, government and the community.
The addition of locational
services to smart devices and their incorporation into social media platforms
has aided the potential to provide real time information from both emergency
services to community members and from community members to each other and the
emergency services.
An experimental iPhone ‘App’
named ‘PocketFire’ was developed to investigate the use of smart phone
technology to improve collaboration of information on the ground for fire fighters.
The ‘App’ allows users to view a ‘Shared Incident Map’ of fire incidents and
enables fire fighters to display their current location. This PocketFire App is
a form of Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) that is used to generate local level
knowledge.
The potential applications
of PPGIS as a means to support emergency response go far beyond the simple
tracking of fire fighters vehicles. Imagine if we had the ability, during
severe weather events, to log our location on a map when we needed assistance
from the SES and could track how far away that assistance was. Or if we had the
ability to inform of a flooded road on an interactive map that alerts others as
they approach the same area.
Although in its relative infancy, PPGIS programs
have enormous potential to provide assistance to emergency decision making and
support the response system in times of crisis. The technology already exists to
create a collaborative network of free flowing information between the community
and emergency services. The
unpredictability of climate change creates a sense of urgency to engage with
this technology to better prepare us to respond in emergency situations.
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| Shared Incident Map from ‘PocketFire’ iPhone Application which shows the locations of fire incidents and the location of fire fighters in real time |
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