Jefferson Parish GIS Hurricane Response Review. From the information given by A.J. Tapie, GIS Manager of Jefferson Parish, the use of

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1 Neil Dixon and Ryan Ziegelbauer URPL 969 3/10/2006 Jefferson Parish GIS Hurricane Response Review From the information given by A.J. Tapie, GIS Manager of Jefferson Parish, the use of GIS in the Parish immediately following Hurricane Katrina consisted of four main efforts. These efforts included: 1. Selecting a versatile GIS software solution before the storm. 2. Producing street maps of Jefferson Parish for National Guard troops, FEMA, Red Cross and other relief agencies. 3. Creating layers and maps of fallen trees and broken water mains for tree removal and waterworks teams. 4. Preparing maps of drainage pipes, manholes and catch basins to find the most direct route to the nearest drainage canal in order to pump water from the Parish back into Lake Pontchartrain. Hardware and Software Versatility When upgrading computer equipment in the late 1990 s Jefferson Parish chose a GIS program called Geo Media. Geo Media is dependant on a database system for storage and the program can read and project other types of data such as Arcview shapefiles, Arcinfo data, and Mapinfo coverages. The software can also convert the Oracle data into an Access or SQLServer database or into an Arcview shapefile. Perhaps the most desirable capability of the Oracle spatial server software is the spatial commands, which enable 1

2 users to query data spatially with any GIS software. Mr. Tapie found this feature to be most impressive I could perform a query in any software with an ODBC connection (EXCEL, Visual Basic, Access, etc.) and I could end up with results that depended on spatial relationships. For example, one could select all the addresses within 500 feet of a particular feature, such as levies or drainage manholes. Because of these capabilities Geo Media proved to be very versatile after Hurricane Katrina. With the expectation that the data connections from Jefferson Parish offices to the Emergency Operations Center Bunker would be damaged, A.J. Tapie, loaded major features and address points onto a single computer with Geo Media located inside the Emergency Operations Center. This computer was completely independent from the main servers, yet was able to effectively access various types of data. Mr. Tapie believes that Geo Media, a database dependant software, was a good choice under the circumstances, and in the future similar programs should be considered. The versatility and effectiveness of the software would likely make similar programs an obvious choice for decision makers upgrading computer equipment. Street Map Production Following the hurricane, one of the initial tasks for the GIS team was the creation of over 200 street maps for the National Guard, FEMA, Red Cross and other relief agencies. This was a relatively straightforward task, though time and efforts could have been better used had the maps been printed out ahead of time. It may be a good idea to keep a large number of maps on hand in the event of future emergencies. This can reduce response time, eliminate confusion, and allow things to run more smoothly. 2

3 Water Main Repair The high winds of the hurricane caused hundreds of very large trees to topple, often lifting and breaking water mains throughout the parish. The water works department sent crews to locate the breaks, noting the nearest address and if the breaks were tangled in trees and roots. Mr. Tapie then added the breaks as point features along the water mains and produced thematic maps showing the location of the breaks tangled up in trees and those that weren t. The repair crews were able to organize their efforts and send tree removal teams ahead to the tangled breaks while the water works crews concentrated on the breaks that were clear of trees. These water main break and fallen tree features were converted into shape files and given to a private contractor who uses Arcview. The contractors were then able to create their own break feature for the breaks they found, and exchange that data with the parish. Mr. Tapie noted that, These efforts expedited water repairs as crews could organize their efforts, repairing breaks area by area. This is a great example of how society can benefit from the exchange of information between public and private sectors. These fairly small mapping projects had a very large impact in restoring water to the parish and making the repair crews jobs easier and more efficient. Draining the Floodwaters Soon after Hurricane Katrina passed through the area, the 17 th street canal floodwalls broke, allowing water to flow into Orleans Parish as well as Jefferson Parish. The pumping stations which normally drain rain water out of these areas were not operable, 3

4 and things were further complicated by the fact that the pumps use the 17 th street canal to drain the water and that this canal was dammed by the US Army Corp of Engineers to prevent further flooding. In order to pump the water out of the affected areas an alternative route for the water needed to be located. Mr. Tapie created maps identifying all drainage pipes, manholes, catch basins and their sizes. Using the maps the Jefferson Parish engineers were able to easily locate the larger culverts in order to move water very quickly. This application of GIS demonstrates the need for reliable and frequently updated data. Having reliable data on hand at all times, and for a vast array of data types, can insure that a variety of problems can be addressed more efficiently. Application Analysis: The lessons to be learned from Mr. Taipe s narrative of the events that unfolded immediately after Hurricane Katrina are numerous. It is important to note that Jefferson Parish did not endure the same level of devastation as Orleans or St. Bernard Parish. As such, the experience of those working in Jefferson Parish can be indicative of the experiences of those working for other communities who may experience a higher probability occurrence than Hurricane Katrina. This fact leads us to the four principles of sustainable development in disaster recovery according to Jim Schwab AICP. Those principles are: 1) Natural disasters are cyclical. 2) The aftermath of one disaster is the prelude for the next. 3) Mitigation is most effective when planned before disaster strikes. 4) Implementation is most successful during the teachable moment. Using our knowledge of the relative effectiveness of emergency response measures in Jefferson 4

5 Parish following Hurricane Katrina along with these four principles, a prescription for more appropriate Hurricane/Emergency response measures can be developed. The cyclical nature of natural disasters and hurricanes in particular, leaves little doubt that this will not be the last time the Gulf Coast will be in need of well-planned and well-executed emergency response measures. Therefore, it behooves us to learn as much from this storm as possible before the next storm bears down on the New Orleans metropolitan region. Many of the conditions present in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will be present following subsequent hurricanes. The ability of an emergency response plan to address these conditions serves as a prelude to future emergency response plans. The versatility of Jefferson Parish s GIS software was extremely valuable to the various agencies that relied on information provided by Mr. Taipe. Investment in this GIS versatility should be continued and possibly expanded. Also, the various relief and response agencies arriving in Jefferson Parish after Katrina were in need of street maps in order to effectively carry out their duties. These maps could be updated every winter and stockpiled in preparation for hurricane season. This activity alone, if carried out in every hurricane-prone community, could save countless hours for GIS technicians. Their expertise could then be used to perform more detailed and event-specific research like mapping damaged infrastructure. The maps prepared by Mr. Taipe that identified all drainage pipes and their sizes along with manholes and catch basins could be extremely useful in the future if regularly updated. These lessons, if documented and taken seriously, provide a great starting point for future emergency response measures in Jefferson Parish and other communities in the region. 5

6 Efforts to mitigate the damaging effects of hurricanes and other natural disasters are most effective by executing a sound disaster response plan, prepared well in advance. It is for this reason that we must look closely at the stories of Mr. Taipe and other GIS personnel who were on the ground in southern Louisiana responding to the conditions following hurricane Katrina. Implementing the various measures outlined in this report will be most successful if action is taken quickly, while the attention of elected officials and the public at large is fixed on the consequences of Hurricane Katrina and the desire to avoid similar conditions in the future. The concept of the teachable moment inherently implies a certain amount of elasticity. Disasters of a higher frequency or smaller magnitude will be followed by much shorter and less intensive teachable moments. Disasters on the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina with its intense media coverage and profound human suffering will linger in the minds of those affected and others who may find themselves in the path of disaster. Now is the time to transform the lessons of Katrina into sound disaster mitigation policy. The spatial information analysis capabilities provided by GIS research and GIS applications are crucial to this planning process and the experiences of Mr. Taipe and his colleagues are a perfect place to start. 6