The application of remotely-sensed imagery and geospatial vector datasets are critical for emergency management personnel to visualize the extent of actual and potential hazards. RMMC has been collaborating with private industry, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Joint Precision Strike Demonstration - Program Office (JPSD-PO), and the Colorado National Guard's WMD Civil Support Team to become familiar with WMD modeling and assessment tools used by first responders to evaluate urban terrorist situations and threats. There are significant issues that go hand-in-hand with using geospatial data in support of WMD modeling: geospatial data accuracy, availability of current data, data format compatibility, access to large-scale (1:5000) data, and dissemination of geospatial data from and to federal, state, and local governments. Critical infrastructure data such as transportation, emergency services, day/night population, federal building locations, and schools from federal, state, and local governments and private industry will be evaluated for applications and incorporation into WMD models. This study proposes that remotely-sensed imagery, such as LIDAR, be used to extract buildings to create a three-dimensional representation of an area. First responders will be able to evaluate a WMD scenario easier in a 3D environment, and DTRA will be able to use the building information to create urban canyon airflow models. If the evaluations are deemed acceptable, then RMMC will work with DTRA to incorporate these new geospatial datasets into their WMD modeling program software package - the Consequences Assessment Tool Set.
Project Lead: Sherry Durst