Threats to people and their property can take many forms. Many of the situations we concern ourselves with in this course are linked to natural events. But it is also important to consider a wide range of social and economic triggers that could cause emergency management situations. In this lesson, we'll take a look at a variety of disaster types and their associated geographic attributes.
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Lesson 2 is one week in length. To finish this lesson, you must complete the activities listed below.
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To Do |
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Please refer to the Course Calendar for specific due dates.
If you have questions about the content or lesson activities, please post them to the General Questions and Discussion forum in Canvas. While you are there, feel free to post your own responses if you, too, are able to help a classmate. If your question is of a personal nature, please email me directly through Canvas.
There is a very wide range of hazards and disasters we must consider when planning and implementing geospatial solutions for emergency management. It is easy to focus on the very large and obvious events - things like hurricanes, earthquakes, and disease epidemics. For many geospatial managers, however, there are day-to-day emergency situations on a local level that deserve plenty of attention: house fires, auto accidents, and violent crimes - just to name a few.
In this lesson, you will consider some of the characteristics of disaster and emergency events in three main ways. On this page, you will explore how different organizations track and provide up to date information on emergencies around the world - A key message that will become evident is that there are many diverse disasters and emergencies occurring at any given time. On the following pages, you will read about some specific hazards and disasters and how they are understood from a geospatial perspective, and you will do a hands-on hazard and damage assessment.
Let's jump in! The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) keeps a running tab of declared disaster events in the US [3]. You've probably heard of these on the news when the President declares a location a "Federal Disaster Area". In addition to these alerts, FEMA now publishes quite a few interesting summary maps of recent disasters at their GeoPlatform. Please spend some time looking at the various components of the FEMA GeoPlatform [4]. While there, think about what information is provided - DataHubs like this are becoming popular and useful tools for providing external facing data and mapping services. Who is the target audience for this? Is this a potential data source or is it locked down? Some of these pages rely on Esri Story Maps, a tool you will use later in the course. You might want to bookmark this to come back to as we talk about different types of Hazards and Disasters and when new events happen in the United States as we work through this course.
Next, have a quick look at the following presentation prepared for a daily FEMA Geospatial Coordination Conference Call for Hurricane Lane as it passed near Hawaii in the summer of 2018 [5] (You looked at a similar one of these in Lesson 1 focused on Hurricane Maria). These briefings describe the state of Situation Awareness, particularly from a geospatial readiness perspective. We’ll revisit this concept in coming lessons but for now, note the range of actors and their different roles/viewpoints on this event. This is also a much more technical view than what is provided in the GeoPlatform, and you can find some of the data behind this on their GIS portal.
Finally, a complementary example identifying and tracking emergencies and disasters can be found on a map developed by the Emergency and Disaster Information Service (EDIS) to provide information on a wide range of hazards and disasters around the world. Take a look at this application called EventMap [6].
There are other examples like this that we will come across during this course and as part of future lessons, and we will also look at geospatial tools for understanding particular events on a much more detailed level. Next, you will consider some hazards and disasters in greater detail through this week's readings.
Here is a quick recap of how the reading assignments work. For each lesson, I will ask you to read parts of your textbooks, online materials I select, or articles I've found. As you can see below, I'll try to make it as clear as possible what you're expected to do by always identifying specific reading assignments in a separate box.
Part of your class participation grade will be making responses on our discussion board to questions I pose about the readings. Whenever you see a RESPOND prompt, you need to respond to that question as directed. Occasionally, I'll mark items THINK ABOUT when I simply want to direct your thoughts as you read.
You can access most of the readings via the links on this page. Some are also available as files in the Lesson 2 Module of Canvas.
The readings for this week are selected to continue the introduction to spatial data science for emergency management and to hazards and disasters in particular. These are some fundamental concepts you will very likely refer back to as you engage with the course material and develop your own term project. The first reading is from your GIS for Disaster Management textbook and provides a broad background on disaster management and GIS. It also introduces the important point that there are different levels of responsibility for responding to events, some overlapping some distinct. You should think about the role of government (local, state, and federal), non-government organizations, industry and private sector, and the research and education organizations in each phase of emergency management. It is a complex landscape, and this course often considers the ways these actors intersect.
The second reading is a report/handbook developed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on different hazard and disasters, their complex characteristics and how to address them. You will read just a part of the handbook, but it is likely to be of use as you move through the course and encounter different topics you want to learn more about (It could also provide inspiration for your choice of term project topic!).
"GIS for Disaster Management" - Chapter 5, "Disaster Management and Geographic Information Systems" (see Library Resources link in Canvas).
In your view and based on the readings, what are the major challenges in GIS and emergency management for the three major areas of government: local, state, and federal? How do the issues at one level affect those at another? What are the barriers to a cohesive, integrated approach to emergency management across the levels? Finish your evaluation with a couple of sentences about what happens when you overlay a pandemic like what we are experiences with COVID-18. Be critical!
From the 2017 ASEAN report “Specific Hazards: Handbook on Geospatial Decision Support in ASEAN Countries [7]” read the Preface, pages 1 – 13 and then pick one of the chapters on specific hazards (e.g., “Landslide”). The other chapters will be a good reference as you consider other hazards in this class.
What are some of the general principals, approaches, and technologies applicable across the range of hazards considered in this report? Then, think about how these play out for a specific hazard, particularly with regard to:
The 2021 report "Hitting Home: The Compounding Costs of Climate Inaction [8]" by the Climate Council highlights describes how climate change is influencing the timing, frequency, and severity of different disasters. Play attention to what they say about future trajectories, and think about whether we are heading in the right direction with our approaches to emergency management.
This discussion will be graded out of 15 points.
Please see the Discussion Expectations and Grading page under the Orientation and Course Resources module for details.
We are probably all familiar with drones, or UAVs, as they are virtually everywhere these days. UAVs are remote controlled airplanes and helicopters that are capable of providing surveillance and attack capabilities for military and civilian uses (no attack capabilities in the civilian case, unless you mount a potato gun). Their development grew out of the need for airborne reconnaissance on missions that are either too dangerous or too tedious for piloted aircraft. Today, UAVs have evolved to the point that some platforms are small enough to be easily deployed by a small support team and require only a hand launch or a very short runway. They are often referred to more generically as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), as the vehicles themselves are just one piece of the overall puzzle in most geospatial workflows You may also be interested to look at another one of the GIS courses we offer, GEOG 892: Geospatial Applications of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) [9]. It is focused explicitly on how UAVs and GIS working together.
In the emergency management context, UAVs are already used in a variety of ways and new applications continue to emerge.
UAVs are capable of surveying areas very quickly to provide imagery to - or other types of - remotely-sensed data. Satellite data is always valuable and desirable, but satellites cannot always be overhead at the right times on demand. UAVs can be deployed very quickly and can be easily directed toward different areas as the situational picture develops. It is worth noting that UAV footage combined with new approaches to image processing means emergency responders can have high-quality imagery and maps in a matter of hours rather than days.
Click on the image below to see a great example of how UAV footage was used to create a compelling story and reference document about the 2018 Camp Fire in California.
The following 2:28 minute video provides a good illustration of the links between drone mission planning/field operations, image processing, and delivery of products for use in response and recovery activities. Note the time frames involved in this, and how much shorter they are than other traditional aerial or remote sensing efforts. However, the time required to process imagery from those platforms is rapidly shortening as well.
We are all pretty familiar with the use of drones for imagery, but here are a few additional emerging uses for drones in emergency stations. The next video is a bit of a ‘vision’ for drone use and this is followed by a few specific examples of how drones are being used in emergency response.
The following 3:30 minute video: Disaster Response Support with Drones, provides a nice overview.
It’s not just about Amazon delivering goods to your door… Payload drones are increasingly being used in crises as illustrated in the following videos from WeRobotics and Zipline.
Watch WeRobotics Amazon Rainforest Cargo Drones (2:35 minutes)
If you have some time it is worth checking out WeRobotics [11] [11]on their website or YouTube. Patrick Meier, the author of Digital Humanitarians, is also a co-founder of WeRobotics.
Now watch the 4:05 minute video about airdrops of medical supplies to African Villages.
Drones are also able to work together to complete tasks. You may have seen the insane “swarm” drone light display at the opening ceremony [13] of the Winter Olympics in Pyeong Chang in 2018. Other applications are being developed such as the three drones working together to build a rope bridge that can support humans in the following (3:26 minute video).
Building a rope bridge with flying machines (3:26)
Finally, I’d like you to consider how drones are being incorporated with other emerging technology such as artificial intelligence. In the video example below (from Australia!) drones are able to identify swimmers, swimmers in need, sharks, stingrays, and many other things. (2:05 minutes)
We've covered a lot so far in this lesson, and now you will start putting things together through an applied exercise. You will be working with GIS and UAV data to help develop situation awareness for first responders and search and rescue teams approaching an impacted area - NOTE that this will be a common theme throughout this exercise. These teams need to know quickly whether it is safe for them to proceed and what the conditions on the ground might be like. Imagine you are a geospatial professional supporting these efforts with existing GIS data and UAV data coming in from the field in near real-time.
Note: You will be setting up some software and downloading some relatively large datasets. Please do this early in the lesson even if you are unable to begin the exercise right away.
Here is a quick overview of what you will be doing and how it links with what we have learned so far.
See the following pages for more details.
In this section of the exercise, you will work with two types of UAV-derived geospatial products, orthomosaics, and 3D textured mesh datasets. Your goal is to evaluate ways to use these data to support situational awareness for first responders and urban search and rescue teams. For example, think about suggested plans for an evacuation of the area and providing guidance for where search and rescue teams and damage assessment efforts should focus first. Remember to imagine that this is early data coming in from an emergency situation and that you are tasked with quickly providing spatial products for field operations.
Pix4D is used to develop high-resolution imagery products (2D maps and 3D textured mesh images) based on captured images and their associated location information. So, it is a tool that could be used to develop spatial products in a relatively short period of time. Here, I have provided a quick start tutorial using the buildings dataset.
Double click to open the Pix4D project building_1.p4d. If prompted, navigate to the images folder associated with this project.
Explore the Map View. This shows the general study area and the locations of where the UAV images were taken, denoted by the red circles. Go ahead and click on one of the circles to see the corresponding image and parameters.
Open the Processing Options by selecting the button on the lower left of the display. This is where you set up the parameters for processing the raw imagery. Some of the options for outputs include point cloud, 3D mesh, Digital surface model, or Orthomosaic. There is also a panel that shows Resources and Notifications. You can view the resources available on your computer to do the processing.
Look at Processing panel (also at the lower left of the display). This shows the selected options and allows you to launch the model. NOTE: Because Pix4D can be really resource intensive, I have already generated output for you to consider. However, feel free to have a go at running this yourself – it just might take a while.
Now have a look at the processed results and explore some of the options for interrogating the data.
Now you will write a short (400 words + figures) assessment of the situation on the ground as observed in the orthomosaic, keeping in mind your role as a geospatial analyst supporting operations and field teams. Focus mostly on the issues raised when looking at the orthomosaic, as described above, but provide a few insights into the potential advantages of providing 3D products to emergency managers and responders as well.
Submit, along with Part 2, to the GIS and UAV Data Exercise Dropbox.
Later in the course, you will learn about using geoAI and machine learning for rapid, automated assessment of imagery like this. We will also consider how data like this can be delivered more effectively to first responders and others in the field during emergencies.
In 2017, Hurricane Irma had devastating impacts on much of the Caribbean, especially the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda. In fact, nearly all of the buildings on the island of Barbuda were destroyed, and almost the entire population was evacuated to Antigua before or immediately after the storm.
For more context, have a quick look at this reporting from the Guardian, The night Barbuda died: how Hurricane Irma created a Caribbean ghost town [19]. If you have trouble with this link, go to the next page in Canvas.
In this section, you will compare UAV imagery collected soon after the hurricane hit with ‘baseline’ satellite imagery taken before the storm. I want you to contrast the type of information you can get from high-resolution satellite imagery with that from an insanely high-resolution UAV mission. Approach this from the point of view of an emergency manager coordinating search, rescue, and recovery efforts in the immediate aftermath of the event. Also, consider the damage evident in the imagery in support of overall damage assessment and teams entering the field.
The data you will be working with came from a Canada-based group called UAViators [20] and it is distributed on OpenAerialMap [21]. If you are interested in this type of data (for your term project?), the OpenAerialMap website might be a good place to start looking.
Write a short assessment of the situation on the ground, keeping in mind your role as a geospatial analyst supporting operations and field teams.
Submit, along with Part 1, to the GIS and UAV Data Exercise Dropbox.
For each part of this exercise, you'll write a short assessment of the situation on the ground, keeping in mind your role as a geospatial analyst supporting operations and field teams.
Each response should be about 400 words in length. Together, they are worth 50 points.
It is important for you to save your files in the following format so that I can match each submission up with the correct student.
L2_exercise_firstinitialLastName.doc For example, my file would be named "L2_exercise_mBeaty.doc"
Upload your assignment to the Deliverable: GIS and UAV Data Exercise Dropbox (L2). See the Course Syllabus or Calendar for specific due dates.
This will be graded out of 50 points and will count towards the Exercise portion of your grade. I will assess it using the following rubric.
Criteria | Points |
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Content (part 1) You make strong and logical arguments and provide analytical insights. Ideas are well organized, clearly communicated and relevant to the prompt. All criteria are accurately addressed. Supporting details are shared, elaborated upon and demonstrate understanding. Examples are provided, and your essay includes images or other multimedia that support content. |
20 |
Content (part 2) You make strong and logical arguments and provide analytical insights.[j1] Ideas are well organized, clearly communicated and relevant to the prompt. All criteria are accurately addressed. Supporting details are shared, elaborated upon and demonstrate understanding. Examples are provided, and your essay includes images or other multimedia that support content. |
20 |
Clarity and Mechanics (parts 1 & 2) |
10 |
Total | 50 |
In Lesson 1, you were introduced to the term project for this class. This week, you will choose one of the project options and decide what your project will cover. Your abstract should be no longer than 400 words. The goal of this exercise is to pave the way for you to write an exemplary term project, therefore, each section of the abstract will be graded on a satisfactory (1 point)/unsatisfactory (0 points) basis.
Your abstract is worth 6 points and should have the following sections and address these questions:
This week, I would also like you to set up a time to run your ideas by me. I think this will be particularly important with regard to the data component of your project. I can provide you with some feedback on whether the scope of the work seems too big, too small, or just right, and whether I think you’ll be able to get the data you need. This can be a quick discussion or we can take a bit longer if that is helpful.
I know it might be challenging to find a time to meet since we are likely in very different time zones - you probably recall I am based in Melbourne, Australia. That said, there will probably be some overlap where we can set up a voice or video call with Zoom [27]or Skype or communicate via chat. I am fine with getting up early or staying up late to overlap with folks. Have a look at the World Clock Meeting Planner [28] where you can put in your location and my location and see the hours of overlap. Then suggest a time you'd like to talk. I am happy to help with this as well.
Please submit your assignment as a word document to the "Term Project Abstract" dropbox in Canvas. See the Course Calendar in Canvas for specific due dates.
The goal of this exercise is to pave the way for you to write an exemplary term project, therefore, each of the six sections listed above will be graded on a satisfactory (1 point)/unsatisfactory (0 points) basis for a total of 6 points. You will have an opportunity to revise your abstract after receiving my feedback.
This week, you have been introduced to the range of potential hazards that spatial data science for emergency management must be prepared to handle. In your reading assignment, we began to explore some of the key issues associated with supporting emergency management tasks with geospatial tools. Knowing how to design an effective geospatial system for emergency management depends on understanding hazards as much as it depends on understanding the capabilities and limitations of current geospatial technology.
Now that you have a general understanding of the types of hazards relevant to spatial data science for emergency management, we will begin examining the first of the four stages of emergency management in greater detail. In the next lesson, we will explore the role of geospatial perspectives and technologies for Preparedness activities.
You have reached the end of Lesson 2! Double-check the to-do list on the Lesson 2 Overview page to make sure you have completed all of the activities listed there before you begin Lesson 3.
If you have any questions, please post to the Canvas Discussion Forum called "General Questions" or email the instructor via Canvas conversations (if the question is personal in nature).
Links
[1] https://www.digitalglobe.com/opendata
[2] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-03/why-the-indonesia-quake-and-tsunami-were-so-destructive/10330420
[3] http://www.fema.gov/disasters
[4] https://gis-fema.hub.arcgis.com/
[5] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog858/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog858/files/Lesson_02/Files/Lane_GeoUpdate_20180825.pdf
[6] https://rsoe-edis.org/eventMap
[7] https://www.unescap.org/publications/specific-hazards-handbook-geospatial-decision-support-asean-countries-0
[8] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog858/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog858/files/Lesson_01/Images/hitting-home-report-V7-210122.pdf
[9] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog892/
[10] http://buttecountygis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=af7e5bb3960a48c096ed910c640a30b3
[11] https://werobotics.org/
[12] https://techcrunch.com/
[13] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRMUNptyTag
[14] https://www.flickr.com/people/47407357@N07
[15] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Flickr
[16] https://www.flickr.com/photos/47407357@N07/5475356514
[17] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
[18] https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14437334
[19] https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/nov/20/the-night-barbuda-died-how-hurricane-irma-created-a-caribbean-ghost-town
[20] http://uaviators.org/
[21] http://openaerialmap.org/
[22] https://data.humdata.org/
[23] https://www.openstreetmap.org/
[24] http://ghdx.healthdata.org/record/antigua-and-barbuda-population-and-housing-census-2011-2012
[25] https://caribbean.eclac.org/countries/antigua-and-barbuda
[26] https://openaerialmap.org
[27] https://cmm.psu.edu/zoom/
[28] https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html