The sheer number of emergencies Scott County in Iowa faces at any given time is staggering.
Floods along the Mississippi. Derechos in the air. Tornadoes in residential areas.
And then there are infrequent disasters and what-if scenarios: train derailments, earthquakes, and radiation exposure from a nearby nuclear power plant.
This county of about 175,000 people in the middle of the United States is not unique in facing extreme weather events and threats to the lives and properties of its residents. What sets Scott County apart is its preparation—for anything—by getting the right information, to the right people, at the right time. Modern mapping technology is helping county leaders put all of that needed information in one accessible place.
These aren’t the cumbersome rolls of paper maps, stretched out on tables or on the hoods of cars at the site of an unfolding emergency. They aren’t the three-inch binders listing addresses of facilities with hazardous materials. Which still need cross-referencing with other records to determine risk. Nor are they scattered online maps and data that must be tracked down in the moment.
What Scott County has done is put dynamic maps and critical data into a single application they call their Situational Awareness Experience. It gives everyone involved near real time information and statistics to help answer questions at the speed of need.
In the thick of a crisis, leadership and emergency responders can quickly see: Where are the shelters? Where are the supplies? Where are people who have medical needs? Where are the waters rising? Where is the plume growing? What is happening where – right now?
Of course, a crucial part of emergency management is anticipating what-if scenarios. What if a local hospital loses access to potable water? What if an assisted living facility loses power amid extreme heat? What if winds shift and a hazardous plume spreads to a neighborhood with child-care centers?
Scott County answers these in-the-moment and what-ifs using its Situational Awareness Experience. The app handles such a heavy workload because it’s built using the sophisticated mapping and data management technology known as geographic information systems (GIS).
“You could have the best plans in the entire world, but you can’t control everything,” said Brian Payne, Scott County Emergency Management Agency director.
But Payne and his team come closer to a semblance of control using their GIS application. It combines all critical data and can be displayed on large screens inside the county’s emergency operations centers or on smartphones in the field. “Being adaptable on the fly but controlling the things you can prior to that—this tool does that,” Payne said.
The county’s emergency response has long been guided by a series of questions: “What have I got, where is it going, and what am I going to need?” That’s no different now, only the answers are coming more quickly, and comprehensively.
Answering “where” is still particularly critical for anyone needing to better understand how to respond when an emergency unfolds.
From back-to-back hurricanes, simultaneous wildfires, to extreme heat causing preventable deaths, we are all facing a carousel of crises.
In the US in 2024, there were 24 confirmed weather or climate-related disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each. This will be the fifth year in a row the country has been hit by 18 or more billion-dollar disasters. It’s “a consistent pattern that is becoming the new normal,” according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report.
With every emergency or simulated emergency, Scott County emergency managers and GIS analysts have taken stock of lessons learned and improved what information could be made more readily available.
They are constantly looking for new ways data can be displayed and shared.
In 2019, Scott County had endured the sort of rain that felt like it might never stop, soaking the ground ahead of anticipated Mississippi River flooding. With the river expected to rise to record heights, the county’s team of GIS analysts made a custom map showing where emergency managers might expect to see floods. The map turned out to be eerily accurate.
In 2020, a derecho tormented Scott County with winds and lightning storms leading to power outages that lasted several days during sweltering heat. The team painstakingly collected available federal data and surveyed residents to find out who might need extra help, like people using wheelchairs or oxygen tanks. They identified places, such as assisted-living communities, where the county’s most vulnerable populations live.
The app stores this type of information on a secure server, ready to be accessed and displayed as a map, chart, or dashboard when needed.
In early 2024, the county simulated the effects of what might happen if there were a hostile attack on a nearby nuclear plant. Managers from Scott County agencies including transportation, public health, and public safety, as well as elected leaders, worked with the Situational Awareness Experience app to find the answers they needed for their specific response.
The result? Scott County emergency managers knew what they had, where it was going, and what they were going to need. The maps and displays showed them, quickly and comprehensively. That way, they could do what needed to happen and where it was happening. They could save lives and protect communities.
To learn more about how GIS helps monitor, respond to, and manage disasters and emergencies, visit esri.com/en-us/industries/emergency-management/overview.
