Towards best practice guidelines for GIS in emergency management
GIS has repeatedly proven its worth as a management tool during several recent emergencies such as 9/11, the 2003 Victorian bushfires, 2004 New Zealand North Island floods etc.
Despite this, there have been no consistent sources of guidance for NZ GIS staff who may be required to assist in a civil emergency. This lack of guidance seems to have been particularly acute in the local government Civil Defence sector.
This paper first describes the context of Emergency Management in New Zealand, with an overview of the relevant legislation and organisational structures. Official reports of responses to the 2004 NZ floods as well as roadshow presentations on Victorian bushfire experiences highlighted the shortcomings of existing NZ spatial information systems during an emergency.
In 2005 a survey was performed of GIS use for Emergency Management purposes in Local Government, and the outcomes are described. The survey confirmed the general lack of consistent practices with EM GIS and the limited interoperability of many EM mapping systems. Based on the survey outcomes, a group of local government staff set out to pool their knowledge and collaboratively create a manual on good practice in this area. Lessons have been learnt from Australian and U.S. initiatives in this area, as well as from NZ experiences.
This paper then covers the key content areas of the manual such as Standard Operating Procedures, symbology, and a description of key data layers.