GIS for disaster mitigation and civil defence in TIROL/Austria
However those operational teams are often concentrating only on there specific task (e.g. dispatching
systems for the red cross or the Mountain Rescue Team). More complete information about events as
mentioned above are rare or in most cases even unavailable. That means that right now most GIS
databases are confined to very specific information which is only accessible by different organisations.
In case of a big emergency there is no chance to get all the information which would be needed for an
efficient fast work.
As disasters don’t keep those limits in most cases, a transborder and therefore transnational access to
information resp. data is essential. Due to this facts IKI was developed. A password restricted area in
the
Internet will provide:
- specific information concerning disaster control to many topics (point 2)
- transprovincial- and transnational information (point 3)
- connection to specific local GIS Systems for detailed information (point 3)
Natural hazard information (online) – large scale (tiris Geographic Services)
The study of natural hazards enables access to all of the relevant, digitally available data in Tirol. The basic
information is derived from the hazardous zone maps of the forestry services (for torrents, avalanches, mudslides
and rock falls), and the flood-risk maps of the local river authority (Noggler 2000b).
To ensure that these data are operationally not only quickly available, but also specific to a given
situation, the information is grouped into three categories; avalanches, water and earth. A background
aerial photo is loaded initially as background information. Further information is displayed depending
on the chosen scale of the image. A digital disaster map may then be superimposed. This Web
application is used within the local government of Tirol, communities, rescue organisations and many
more. The application and all GIS data is provided by tiris, the governmental GIS
Figure 1: hazard zone map (avalanches in Galtür) with contour lines, address points, main roads (incl.
kilometer postings) and arial picture (Web GIS application).
More Information:
http://www.tirol.gv.at/tiris (german only).
Internet Information System for Disaster Control” – small scale
The above mentioned problems and gaps alone are reason enough to act. Cases in the past had
shown, the necessity of such a GIS clearly. During the catastrophic snowfall in February 1999
(affected was Switzerland and Austria), the flood in Austria and Germany in the same year etc. data
from neighbour states would have been needed urgently or would have radically assuaged the work
with the involved aid organisations.
That was one reason why Austrian governmental GIS groups, Austrian federal warning centers and
the avalanche warning centers held a workshop to the topic “GIS in civil defence and disaster control”
in Tyrol in
March 2001. During this two day workshop, it was clear, that everybody has to act very quickly. One
result was to establish a “limitless” GIS Internet prototype called IKI for trans-national information
exchange. IKI should be designed to show, how centralised and decentralised GIS data can be linked
to one base application.
