This FAQ section provides answers to commonly asked questions about this solution.
- Does the Emergency Management Operations solution require specific data to get started?
- What is the difference between an incident area and an impact area?
- How is critical infrastructure defined?
- How are community lifelines used in the Emergency Management Operations solution?
- How is the Emergency Management Operations solution set up to use evacuation zones?
- My organization already has well-adopted evacuation language, such as “Ready, Set, Go!” How can I update the solution to match it?
- Can ArcGIS Living Atlas feeds be added to the solution?
- What are some recommended best practices for scalability?
- How can my organization prepare for the next disaster after the current disaster response has concluded?
- Can I configure the Emergency Management Information Manager infographic?
- How does the Emergency Management Operations solution use road closures?
- How do the Emergency Management Operations and Know Your Zone solutions work together?
- Should my organization use the Emergency Management Operations solution or the Incident Awareness and Assessment solution?
No, data is not required to get started with the Emergency Management Operations solution. The solution includes a series of capabilities that can be used to create required data when an emergency incident occurs. If available, existing shelter, critical infrastructure, and preestablished evacuation zones can be loaded into the layers provided with the solution. Additionally, the maps provided with the solution can be configured to include any additional geospatial data required by your organization.
An incident area is the direct area where an incident has occurred, such as the perimeter of a wildfire. An impact area is a larger area that could face effects caused by the incident, such as neighborhoods downwind that are affected by smoke from the fire. The size and shape of the impacted area may grow and change, but the incident area stays relatively consistent.
The critical infrastructure layer that comes with the Emergency Management Operations solution follows the National Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) standard set by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. According to this standard, critical infrastructure falls into one of 16 categories and consists of systems and assets essential to the security, economy, or public health and safety of the community.
Community lifelines communicate the continuous operation of critical government and business functions and are essential to human health and safety or economic security across the whole community. The lifelines are visible in the solution’s Incident Status Dashboard to help reframe incident information and communicate impacts in plain language so that internal stakeholders can prioritize stabilization efforts. Some users may wish to extend the coverage of community lifelines to report on specific subcategories or on the status of specific systems and assets.
The Emergency Management Operations solution comes preconfigured to handle the creation and management of ad hoc evacuation zones. However, some agencies may have preestablished evacuation zones for events such as hurricanes and wildfires. To determine which type of evacuation zones you want to use with the solution, see the Pre-established Zones section of the solution's configuration documentation to determine which configuration meets your needs and how to enable the appropriate pattern. After it is configured, you can use the Emergency Information Manager app to update the status of the zones as events transpire.
My organization already has well-adopted evacuation language, such as “Ready, Set, Go!” How can I update the solution to match it?
You can load existing data into layers provided with the solution and then share it with internal and external stakeholders. To update feature templates and the language used for protective actions, see the Modify notices and evacuation orders section of the solution's configuration documentation.
Yes, many ArcGIS Living Atlas feeds exist that could help enrich the maps and apps that come with the Emergency Management Operations solution. It is important to note that some feeds may slow down the performance of your application, so be sure to assess any potential impacts it could have on your operations. See the Configure emergency management apps section of the solution's configuration documentation for more information.
During an active incident, ArcGIS Online content often experiences high demand as agencies and the public seek to stay informed of unfolding events. The Emergency Management Operations solution comes with the Emergency Management Information ArcGIS Hub site and other applications designed to share publicly. See this blog that highlights some of Esri’s best practices to ensure ArcGIS Online apps are designed to handle a large audience.
When deploying on ArcGIS Enterprise, it is crucial to adhere to the best practices outlined in the ArcGIS Well-Architected Framework. Pay particular attention to the Performance and scalability and Reliability sections to ensure that these applications are ready for use by stakeholders during emergencies.
How can my organization prepare for the next disaster after the current disaster response has concluded?
After the disaster response has concluded, you can use the Emergency Information Manager app to archive incident information by setting the active incident status to No. Archived data will no longer visible in the solution, but it is not deleted. You can always access historical data later by using the feature layer in ArcGIS. The Emergency Management Information site is intended to be a single location for all disaster information. After you archive a disaster or event, you may want to configure the incident-specific information on the site or move it to another site and update the Public Information form to change what gets displayed on the Emergency Management Information site.
The Emergency Management Operations solution shares a road closures layer with the Road Closures solution, enabling emergency operations managers to see what active and upcoming road closures currently exist. Managers can then either coordinate with public works or internally manage road closures specifically related to an incident. To learn more, see Road Closures FAQ.
The Know Your Zone solution, which helps organizations share evacuation zone information with residents, is a complement to Emergency Management Operations. If your organization uses preestablished evacuation zones, you may be interested in deploying Know Your Zone alongside the Emergency Management Operations solution to offer additional evacuation information resources to the public.
Should my organization use the Emergency Management Operations solution or the Incident Awareness and Assessment solution?
It depends on your organization. The Emergency Management Operations Solution is designed for local and state governments and emergency management agencies that are responsible for coordinating response and recovery efforts. It is intended to inform these agencies and the public about ongoing response and recovery efforts.
The Incident Awareness and Assessment Solution is designed for military organizations that respond to domestic and humanitarian operations. It is intended to provide situational awareness to military commanders to help inform their decision-making about future operations and disengagement criteria.