How Gis Data Can Prevent A Weather Disaster

By Grayson McElfrey

Effective and up to date data management is rarely so important as when it pertains to the weather. It’s no secret that extreme weather can be devastating to buildings, landscape and the lives of people and animals. Weather forecasters use all of the technology and tools available to them to try and detect serious weather patterns before they happen. Letting the public know about extreme weather before it happens is the key to avoiding large-scale disasters and loss of human lives.

GIS data or spatial data is one element of weather data management that can help to prevent a weather disaster by keeping everyone informed about what is happening and what is going to happen. GIS is an acronym for ‘geographic information system’ and it is a relatively new form of technology that produces detailed maps and information based on geography. GIS data or spatial data may take the form of aerial maps, postal code maps or other data that includes geographic elements.

Most weather disasters occur when an unsuspecting public is just going on about their business, and out of nowhere severe weather strikes. The severe weather may be a tornado, a blizzard, a hurricane, or an earthquake that triggers a tsunami in coastal regions. By using tools like geocoding software to produce GIS data as part of a greater data management system, the people living in the path of this type of weather can be given a proverbial ‘heads up’ before the weather is upon them.

When GIS data is used to inform the public of imminent weather danger, it gives people time to get out of harm’s way. Often, in severe weather where wind is involved, injuries and death occur from flying debris. When GIS data is used as part of the data management program, more people can be evacuated, which dramatically cuts down on the personal injury or death caused by flying cars, trucks, wood, metal and other debris. Spatial data used in the wintertime will help municipalities dispatch snow removal crews with greater accuracy and where they are needed most. This type of data management will reduce car accidents caused by severe weather, which will also save lives and prevent injury.

In essence, it all has to do with the timely sharing of information. Since so much of weather catastrophe centers around people being in the wrong place at the wrong time, GIS data and accurate data management help people get in the right place by the time danger shows up. It also helps direct the crews and teams designed to make the situation easier, where they should go to be of the most use.

Effective data management as created by geocoding software and other GIS data tools means that fewer people will be caught off-guard, and more people can live in high-risk zones without having to worry about severe weather. GIS data and spatial data aren’t foolproof for weather, but it will reduce the likelihood of injury and unnecessary death when the weather lashes out.

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