Presented at the 2011 Texas GIS Forum

1. Flood Mapping and Response
System for Emergency Responders
Durmus Cesur
Ph.D., PMP, PE, GISP, CFM, ESRI Certified Enterprise GIS
Associate
ESRI Certified ArcGIS Desktop Asso/Professional
ESRI Authorized & Certified Instructor
San Antonio River Authority
Email: dcesur@sara-tx.org

2. Outline
• Introduction
• Emergency management
• Enterprise GIS
• Enterprise GIS for emergency management
• Enterprise GIS-based emergency management example
application
• Conclusions

3. Emergency Management
• Discipline and profession of applying science,
technology, planning and management to deal with
extreme events including:
• Human-caused
• Natural disasters
• Internal disturbances
• Energy and material shortages
• Attacks

4. Emergency Management
Planning
Recovery Mitigation
Emergency
Management
Response Preparedness

5. Enterprise GIS
• Uses
– Manages, analyzes, visualizes and disseminates
information using location (Where?) as the common
denominator
– Enables effective, efficient collaboration, and decision
making and follow-up actions/implementations

6. Enterprise GIS for Emergency
Management
Information Systems and Geographic Information Systems
Component in Emergency Management
• Understand where, when, why, who and how to take
action
• Share knowledge with the emergency management
personnel and the public
• Plan, mitigate, prepare, respond, and recover emergency
situations using right, properly organized, and timely
information and appropriate decisions based on these
• Share/Coordinate information across multiple
disciplines and promote a comprehensive approach for
emergencies

7. Enterprise GIS for Emergency
Management
• GIS uses in emergency management:
– Identifying and locating potential emergency problems,
issues
– Visualizing and analyzing the spatial information to find
out high risk areas
– Determining mitigation needs and measures including
the legislative ones for various emergencies
– Locating facilities, routes, and other critical assets
– Real-time monitoring of emergency situation and early
warning
– Allocating short term recovery facilities, developing long
term recovery plans, and tracking progress

8. SARA D/S Counties Flood
Mapping and Response System
(D/S FMRS)
• San Antonio River Authority (SARA) Downstream
Counties (Wilson, Karnes and Goliad Counties of Texas)
Flood Mapping and Response System:
– Designed for use by Emergency Operations Managers
of downstream counties for flood mapping and
response

9. SARA, The Basin & Jurisdiction

10. The Need for D/S FMRS
• Provide a web GIS based tool for downstream
counties emergency management personnel for use
before, during, and after flooding events
• Provide limited interactivity with the system for the
end users (i.e., emergency managers) to let them
assign stage elevations for all stations of interest and
to have the flood maps accordingly
• Reduce and/or eliminate the information technology
infrastructure management and maintenance costs
for flood related emergencies for these counties

11. D/S FMRS
– ArcGIS Desktop-based application (extension)
– Built in cooperation with the HEC
– Based on the Susquehanna FWRS
– Uses static inundation areas pieced together using
forecast flood elevations
– Being migrated to web GIS platform (ArcIMS initially
and currently to ArcGIS Server)

12. SARA D/S FMRS – Present
• D/S FMRS Present Functionalities:
– Retrieval of NWS stream stage forecasts and
observations using services
– Retrieval of USGS Stream Gage stage observations
using services
– Allow users to define forecasts
– Retrieval of the floodplain based on the forecast
– Generic GIS functionalities (zoom in, out, pan etc.)

13. Example Application – SARA D/S
FMRS

14. D/S FMRS Flood Forecast Based on
User Input and Pre-rendered
Model outcomes

15. D/S FMRS - Future
Additional functionalities:
– Depth measurements
– Impacted Structures Report
– Response tables tools
– Others needed
Platform updates
- Upgrade from ArcIMS to ArcGIS Server JavaScript
API platform is in progress

16. SARA D/S FMRS Migration

17. Conclusions
• D/S FMRS application:
– Provides emergency responders with a tool to make
better decision in the case of flooding when in fully
operational
– Supports emergency management personnel before,
during, and after flooding by providing
functionalities to:
• Simulate what-if scenarios
• Plan for emergency response
• Have quick assessment reports after emergencies

18. Thank you!!!
Any questions???
Durmus Cesur
GIS Program Manager
San Antonio River Authority
Ph.D., PMP, GISP, CFM, PE
ESRI Authorized & Certified Instructor
ESRI Enterprise Geodatabase
Management and ArcGIS Desktop
Associate/Professional
Email: dcesur@sara-tx.org
SARA GIS Website: http://www.sara-
tx.org/public_services/gis_information/