Abstract GIS and Disaster Planning Philip Burden Business Manager GIS Services Division Khatib & Alami CEC Dubai, UAE Email: pburden@kacecuae.com Abstract: Rapid urbanization due to accelerated population growth can have a devastating side effect on our cities and environment when a disaster occurs and there is a lack of adequate disaster response planning. Disasters can be man-made or natural, including earthquakes, floods, fires, war, terrorism, etc. Our ability to react to these disasters, whether government or individual, is not tested very often, and many times when it is, chaos usually reins for a short period until authorities can fully mobilize and take affirmative action. GIS is a tool that can help both in the planning phase to develop contingency scenarios and in the operational phase when teams are on the ground attending to the effects of a disaster. This paper describes the use of GIS in disaster planning.