COLUMBUS, Ohio -- State disaster officials have started using a Web-based program to more efficiently track and respond to severe weather and other crises, and they're also giving counties access to the system.They say the software, used by dozens of states and the federal government, makes it easier to assess damage, needs and available resources, address problems more quickly and coordinate responses among agencies and levels of government.The Ohio Emergency Management Agency began using WebEOC last year. It provides an online portal for gathering and reviewing damage reports, requests for aid and other information that was once exchanged in a more time-consuming jumble of phone calls, notes, faxes, emails or shouts across the room. That means responders from different agencies and levels of government can see the information, and the bigger picture, in real time, and it helps to better organize information needed to request and receive emergency funds from the government.Some Ohio counties already use WebEOC on their own, and the state is giving others access to the software this year. It begins with a pilot program in Lucas and Ottawa counties in northwest Ohio, which include the Davis-Besse nuclear plant and the urban area around Toledo, and more rural Union County in central Ohio. Those counties will give the state feedback about tweaking components of the software for broader use."We're looking forward to continuing to enhance our ability to share information with our other response partners, and we think this is an excellent tool to do so," Ohio EMA operations director Mel House said. "It's just going to take some time to get it right."An agency can add and manipulate features to accommodate how it uses the system for different purposes, as North Carolina has done since it began using WebEOC more than five years ago. During hurricanes, for example, the state has been able to monitor water levels along streams, track how many emergency shelters are running out of space, process requests for generators and other equipment and create color-coded maps showing which homes are likely to be flooded by more than 3 feet of water."We use it for just about anything," said John Dorman, who oversees geospatial and technology management for the Division of Emergency Management.During Hurricane Irene last year, the state had a record high of about 800 users in the system at a time, he said.The Ohio EMA bought WebEOC with federal grant money as part of a $1 million-plus technology upgrade. The agency tested the system during a mock earthquake exercise that included some southwestern Ohio counties that purchased WebEOC separately.Hamilton County bought Web EOC with federal grant money a year ago, as the state was considering the system, and provided access for a dozen counties in the Cincinnati region, including three in northern Kentucky and Dearborn County in southeastern Indiana, said Steve Siereveld, who administers the system for the region."Everything we did, we did with the thought in mind that we were going to integrate with the state system," he said.The new system will be used during events like the World Choir Games, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to the area this year, Siereveld said.Eventually, some counties hope to use the system to track information that comes up more frequently, such as road closures and press releases. In Clermont County, which has had the program since 2003, the 911 dispatchers use the system to pass information between shifts daily, said Becky Ober, systems administrator of the county's Office of Technology, Communications and Security.Rick Murray, the operations manager for the Warren County EMA, said counties in his region consider the program to be user-friendly and like that it's Web-based but still must keep the basics — phone communication, hard copies of emergency plans, resource manuals -- as a backup.Some federal agencies use WebEOC, as do 37 other states, including several Ohio neighbors, according to the software provider, Augusta, Ga.-based ESi Acquisition Inc.It says officials in Indiana, Kentucky and Pennsylvania use WebEOC. Michigan and West Virginia use El Segundo, Calif.-based NC4's E Team incident management system.Responders in West Virginia like the way E Team organizes information and track documents, said Paul Howard, director of operations for the state's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.With either system, he said, success depends on users' familiarity and the quality of information fed into the software."Garbage in equals garbage out," he said
1 comment
lagian pake bahasa linggis.
hehe..
btw, Artikelnya bagus kang :D
Happy Blogging.
Leave Comments