flood maps rely on outdated information, hurricane experts say

Flood maps that don’t reflect actual risks and computer models using outdated or incomplete data are products of a balkanized system that hampers emergency planning and response, users of that system said Wednesday.

Case in point: on the eve of the fifth storm season since Hurricane Katrina, there still doesn’t exist in Louisiana a central map of accurate Mississippi River and hurricane protection levee elevations that is accessible to everyone who needs them, said some of the participants in the 2010 hurricane conference sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and LSU in Baton Rouge.

Details Here

first published week of:   03/22/2010

Floodplain map changing
Plymouth to adopt FEMA maps for flood insurance

If Plymouth doesn’t adopt revised flood insurance rate maps, residents won’t be able to qualify for flood insurance. Planning and Development Director Lee Hartmann said these new maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency follow a different format. Towns are basically required to adopt a countywide format for all flood maps.

“There’s no change at all to the flood districts,” he said. From a practical standpoint, Hartmann said, the new maps would be easier to use. The most recent flood data will be recorded Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, format. The maps, he said, were amended just a year and a half ago. These maps identifying the town’s floodplain district must be adopted at Town Meeting as an amendment to the zoning bylaw.

Details Here first published week of:   01/11/2010

FTC reminds us that storing data in the cloud has drawbacks

Take Google’s new Nexus One phone as a case study of the pros and cons of storing life details on remote servers. Nexus One phones can back up their complete settings to Google’s servers, including data such as “Wi-Fi passwords, bookmarks, a list of the applications you’ve installed, the words you’ve added to the dictionary used by the onscreen keyboard, and most of the settings that you configure with the Settings application.” Get a new phone and the data transfers easily.

But that data is now sitting on servers outside of your control, where it can be accessed far more easily by Google itself, hackers, and law enforcement than it ever could if kept within the device. Once data passes over the network, it gets much easier to access in realtime; once it is stored on a remote server, it gets much easier to access at any time.

Details Here

first published week of:   01/11/2010

FTC Settles With Intel Over Monopoly Accusations

Federal regulators have come to a settlement with Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, in a lawsuit charging that the company strong-armed computer manufacturers into using its chips exclusively.

The proposed settlement would prohibit the company from punishing computer makers for using competitors’ chips or rewarding them unduly for using Intel chips exclusively.

The agreement with the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday looks to settle yet another front in a long-running war over Intel’s use of incentives and punishments. The settlement also forces Intel to modify agreements with chip rivals such as AMD to free them for outside partnerships and investments.

Details Here

first published week of:   08/09/2010

Georgia officials seek "Blue Aler" for police officers

Local Georgia authorities say a “blue alert” bill that would notify the public if an officer is shot or killed could cut down on search time for a suspect. Senate Bill 397 is still in the Senate Public Safety Committee after the full Senate referred it back on February 10, records show. Similar to the Amber Alert law that activates to the Georgia Department of Transportation message boards when a child is abducted, the Blue Alert law would activate when a police officer has been killed or injured and the perpetrator is at large, the bill states. If enacted, the blue alert could be activated if a law enforcement agency believes the suspect has not been caught, if the suspect is believed to be a serious threat to the public and if sufficient information is available to give to the public that could assist in locating the suspect, the bill states. Law enforcement agencies already are notified when a dangerous suspect is on the loose through the National Crime Information Center powered by the FBI.

Details Here

first published week of:   03/15/2010

GIS Delivers During The Largest Earthquake Drill in U.S.

At 10:00 a.m. on November 13, 2008, millions of people throughout Southern California participated in the Great Southern California ShakeOut Drill, the largest earthquake preparedness exercise in U.S. history. The drill simulated a magnitude 7.8 earthquake along the San Andreas Fault in Southern California. ESRI supported participating agencies with software, staffing, and resources used during the exercise, which modeled assessment, rescue, relief, and recovery efforts. Geographic information system (GIS) technology was used to help build an accurate, continuously updated emergency information repository; aided decision support and resource management; and enhanced multijurisdictional communication.

A GIS-based common operating picture provides continuous data updates. Understanding hospital occupancy levels helps officials direct emergency medical service crews transporting new patients.A GIS-based common operating picture provides continuous data updates. Understanding hospital occupancy levels helps officials direct emergency medical service crews transporting new patients.

“We worked diligently to create a realistic exercise that helps us see where we are with our response capability in the event of a major earthquake,” says John Ellison, agency technology officer and geographic information officer (GIO)/California Environmental Resources Evaluation System (CERES) director, California Resources Agency. “By upgrading to ArcGIS Server 9.3 and ArcGIS API for Flex, we have an easy-to-use Web-based viewer suitable for this purpose. We are very pleased with our GIS experience including during the exercise.”

Details Here

first published week of:   09/06/2010

Volume 31

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