GIS Technology for Disasters and
Emergency Management
Russ Johnson
Public Safety Industry Manager
ESRI
Introduction Emergency management encompasses a wide range of activities.
Government at all levels (federal, state, and local) has primary
responsibility for emergency management. Traditionally, the military has
responsibility for threats from foreign governments. Lawmakers and
policy makers are debating the appropriate role of the National Guard and
military concerning internal terrorism. This paper will identify emergency
management activities and describe how geographic information system
(GIS) technology plays a critically important role. First, it is important to
define a number of terms.
Terms Defined ! Emergency—An emergency is a deviation from planned or expected behavior or a
course of events that endangers or adversely affects people, property, or the
environment.
! Disaster—Disasters are characterized by the scope of an emergency. An emergency
becomes a disaster when it exceeds the capability of the local resources to manage it.
Disasters often result in great damage, loss, or destruction.
! Risk—Risk is the potential or likelihood of an emergency to occur. For example, the
risk of damage to a structure from an earthquake is high if it is built on or adjacent to
an active earthquake fault. The risk of damage to a structure where no earthquake
fault exists is low.
! Hazard—Hazard refers generally to physical characteristics that may cause an
emergency. For example, earthquake faults, active volcanoes, flood zones, and
highly flammable brush fields are all hazards.
General Types of
Emergencies
! Human-Caused—Human-caused emergencies include those unplanned events or
accidents that result from human activity or human developments. Examples include
chemical spills, nuclear radiation escapes, utility failures, epidemics, crashes,
explosions, and urban fires.