Configure Emergency Management Operations

Emergency Management Operations can be used to maintain situational awareness and share essential emergency information during an emergency.

In this topic, you'll learn how to configure the Emergency Management Operations solution to meet specific needs in your organization.

Modify surveys

The Emergency Management Operations solution includes two surveys: the Community Lifelines Editor and Public Message Editor. The surveys are configured to see the previous updates made to the public message and community lifelines status, over the life span of the incident or emergency. Configuring the surveys to see the previous updates, will ensure information is maintained with subsequent updates, and allows past information to be documented.

To modify the Community Lifelines Editor and Public Message Editor forms, complete the following steps:

1. Sign in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the EmergencyInformation hosted table.
2. From the item page, select the Lifeline Status table.
3. Next to the URL, click Copy to copy the REST endpoint.
4. Paste the copied URL to notepad.
5. Install ArcGIS Survey123 Connect.
6. Start ArcGIS Survey123 Connect and sign in to your ArcGIS organization.
7. Click Community Lifelines Editor to download the survey.
8. In the Download window, click Download and click OK.
9. Click Community Lifelines Editor to open the survey.
10. At the bottom of ArcGIS Survey123 Connect, click the Scripts button.
11. Search for the following, replacing the text "placeholderURL" with the feature service URL of the Lifelines Status table you copied in an earlier step.
    "placeholderURL";
12. Click the grey checkbox next to GetLastLifeLines.js
13. At the bottom of ArcGIS Survey123 Connect, click Form.
14. In ArcGIS Survey123 Connect, in the left toolbar, click Publish to publish your changes.
15. Review your updates, click Next, and click Publish Survey.
16. Repeat the above steps for the Public Message Editor survey using the Public Message table that is also in the EmergencyInformation hosted table.

Provision users

Included with Emergency Management Operations is a group designed to help managers provision access to the apps that allow editing.

To add members to the groups, complete the following steps:

1. Sign in to your ArcGIS organization and verify that you have privileges to manage member groups.
2. Click Groups at the top of the site.
3. Click Emergency Management Editors to open the group details pages.
4. On the Overview tab, click Invite members.
5. Select the members you want to add and click Add members to group.

   Note:

   If required, ensure Add organization members without requiring confirmation is checked so members have immediate access to maps and apps in time of an emergency.

   Note:

   The group grants access to the Emergency Information Manager, Public Message Editor, Community Lifelines Editor, and associated data. It is designed to help share content quickly. You may wish to create additional groups to further grant or restrict access to specific content.

Configure the Emergency Management Information site

The Emergency Management Operations solution includes the Emergency Management Information ArcGIS Hub site. This site can be configured with your organization's branding and used to share information with the public.

Update with organizational information

After deploying the Emergency Management Operations solution, the Emergency Management Information Hub site layout requires a few updates to fit your local context.

To update the site with your organizational information, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser open the Emergency Management Information site.
2. From the item page, click Configure.
3. If necessary, click the Edit button to open the site editor.
4. Scroll through the site and identify the sections that you want to update with information specific to your organization.
5. Edit the content with information specific to your organization.
6. Scroll to the Frequently Asked Questions section, hover over the card, click the edit pencil, and update the questions and answers.
7. To modify your site’s footer, click Customize Toggle in the side panel.
8. Click Footer.

   A custom footer is provided. In most cases, you will need to update it with your organization's branding, contact information, and social media references.

9. Click the HTML box.

   The HTML window appears.

10. Make the necessary changes and click Apply.
11. Click Save.
12. When you are finished, click the Save drop-down arrow and click Publish Draft.

Share items with the public

Several layer views, maps, and apps included in the Emergency Management Operations solution must be shared with everyone so they can be accessed by the public on the Emergency Management Information site.

To share items with the public, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Emergency Management Operations folder.
2. Next to each of the following items, check the check box:

   Name	Item type
   Incidents_public	Feature layer (hosted, view)
   NoticesAndEvacuations_public	Feature layer (hosted, view)
   NoticesAndEvacuations_KnowYourZone	Feature layer (hosted, view)
   Resources_public	Feature layer (hosted, view)
   RoadClosures_public	Feature layer (hosted, view)
   EmergencyInformation_public	Table (hosted, view)
   EvacuationRoutes_public	Feature layer (hosted, view)
   Public Information	Web Map
   Public Information	Instant App
   Notices and Evacuations	Instant App
   Public Emergency Messaging Dashboard	Dashboard
   Past Public Message Notifications	Dashboard
   Emergency Management Information	Hub Site Application

   Note:

   If you add additional content to items that are shared publicly, be sure to follow best practices.

3. Click Share.
4. In the Share window, click Everyone (public) and click Save.
5. Click Update.

Modify notices and evacuation orders

Note:

This workflow is optional and doesn't need to be completed to work with the solution.

Protective actions are actions you want residents to take during an emergency, such as a mandatory evacuation or a shelter in place order. While many jurisdictions have standardized language for protective actions, these terms may differ for your jurisdiction. The solution is configured with the terms Mandatory Evacuation Order, Evacuation Warning, Advisory Notice, and others.

To modify notices and evacuation orders, complete the following steps:

1. Sign in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the NoticesAndEvacuations feature layer.
2. Click the Data tab and click Fields.
3. Click Evacuation Type and next to List of Values, click Edit.
4. Change the values of the Label (displayed value) to values that work for your jurisdiction, leaving the Code (stored value).
   For example, the value Mandatory Evacuation Order could be changed to Immediate Evacuation Required.

   Note:

   If a Code (Stored value) is added, deleted, or changed, the pop-up for the feature layer will need to be reviewed to ensure any Arcade expressions or pop-up content is updated to account for the change.

5. Click Save.
6. In a browser, open the Emergency Information Manager web map in Map Viewer.
7. Select the Notices and Evacuations layer.
8. Click Edit layer style and click Style Options.
9. Update the name of the new type to match what you updated in step 4.
10. Click Done and save the web map.
11. Repeat steps 7-10 for the Public Information and Incident Status Dashboard web maps.

    The legend of the web map will update to reflect your changes.

    Note:

    When you modify the evacuation type field values, you'll need to update the update the pop-up in the Notices and Evacuations layer and layer views in the Emergency Information Manager, Public Information and Incident Status Dashboard web maps. Review the Banner and status Arcade expressions and Evacuation Type Description Attribute expression with previous changes in this section to ensure the messaging is correct for your organization.

12. In a browser, open the item details for the Emergency Information Manager web map and click Open in Field Maps Designer.
13. Select Forms from the left menu and select Notices and Evacuations from the Layers list.
14. Click the Templates to configure its feature templates.
15. Click a feature template.

    The Formatting settings for the feature template appear in the Properties pane.

16. Provide the updated name of the feature template by editing the Display name settings so it matches the new name defined earlier.

Note:

As you configure the feature templates for a layer, you can use the Undo and Redo buttons to edit changes you've made. Undo and redo actions are specific to each layer.

17. Click Save.

Organize your data

Note:

This workflow is optional and doesn't need to be completed to work with the solution.

The Emergency Management Operations solution is supported without requiring data. However, some jurisdictions may have shelters, critical infrastructure, or pre-established zones data that can be loaded into layers in the solution.

Before you load data, it is important to ensure your data has the appropriate information and is organized correctly to make use of the solution. To match the layer schema, you can either download the provided layers and modify your data's fields and domains before loading, or calculate fields to match after appending your data in the following Load data from a shapefile or file geodatabase section.

Shelters

Many communities have identified facilities that can act as emergency shelters. Having this data loaded can help you visualize the location and status of shelters in your community. Updating the status of the shelter from Closed to Open allows you to relay that information quickly to the public.

The shelter data should have the following required fields and values:

Field Alias Name	Description
Name	The name of the shelter.
Address	The full address of the shelter.
Status	The status of the shelter. The value should be Open, Closed, Standby, Alert, or Unknown.
Publicly Visible	Whether the shelter is publicly visible. If Status field value is Open and the Publicly Visible field value is Yes, the shelter will appear in the Public Information map. If the publicly visible field value is No then it will not appear in the Public Information map.

There are several other optional fields for shelters, including the operating hours (using the Opening Hours Specification), and fields defining shelter details. To see a list of the shelter details defined in the pop-up, the field values should be set to Yes for the applicable fields: Large Animal Shelter, Warming Center, Cooling Center, Handicap Accessible, Generator, Allows Pets / Animals, Access Restrictions, and Functional Needs.

Critical Infrastructure

Many communities have identified critical infrastructure facilities vital to a community's safety and security; for example, power plants, water treatment facilities, and other systems. A critical infrastructure layer is included in the solution based on the critical infrastructure sectors defined by the United States federal government. You can load data into this layer and make it available to the solution or, if you do not have this data, you can use the Emergency Information Manager app to add the location and related information to the map.

The critical infrastructure data should have the following required fields and values:

Field Alias Name	Description
Name of Facility	The name of the critical infrastructure facility.
Sector	A value from one of the defined 16 sectors: such as Chemical Sector, Commercial Facilities, Communications, Critical Manufacturing, Dams, Defense Industrial Base, Emergency Services, Energy, Financial Services, Food and Agriculture, Government Facilities, Healthcare and Public Health, Information Technology, Nuclear Reactors, Materials and Waste, Transportation Systems, Water and Wastewater Systems, and Others.
Full Address	The full address of the critical infrastructure facility.

There are several other optional fields for critical infrastructure, such as point of contact information and the operating hours (using the Opening Hours Specification) that may be useful.

Pre-established Zones

The Emergency Management Operations solution uses pre-established zones created by officials responsible for evacuation plans within communities. We support two types of visualization for pre-established zones one for coastal communities that use the Zone A through Zone F categorization and pre-established evacuation zones are more common in wildfire-prone areas. Before you begin configuring the solution, determine the zone pattern to suit your community's needs.

• Pre-established coastal zones - Pre-established zones displayed on the map using unique colors, often in coastal and flood-prone communities, indicating the highest-to-lowest risk of storm surge or flooding based on a Zone A through Zone F categorization. The symbology of the map stays the same during non-emergency or emergency conditions; only the evacuation notice information associated with the map changes.
• Pre-established wildfire or other zones - Pre-established zones displayed on the map using a transparent fill and black outline during non-emergency conditions. The zone symbology will change during an emergency when the Evacuation Type field value is updated using different evacuation types, such as a Mandatory Evacuation Order, to determine symbology. This is a pattern more commonly seen in areas prone to wildfire or nuclear emergency planning zones. The symbology and evacuation notice information of the map changes during an active emergency.

The zone data should have the following required fields and values:

Field Alias	Description	Zone field requirements
Evacuation Zone	The level of the evacuation zone, typically Zone A through Zone F.	Required for Pre-established coastal zones.
Evacuation Type	The notices and evacuation information assigned to the zone. Set this field value to No Evacuation Order by default.	Pre-established wildfire or other zones.
Zone Name	The public name of the evacuation zone.	Pre-established wildfire zones other zones.
Publicly Visible	Whether the zone is a publicly visible. Set this field value to Yes.	Required for both types of zones.
Pre-established Zone	Whether the zone is a pre-established zone. Set this field value to Yes.	Required for both types of zones.

Tip:

Pre-established zones created by officials for evacuation planning are often derived from storm surge models or mountain topography. Therefore, the resulting zone polygon often has a large number of vertices in the data. Prior to loading zone data, ensure app performance by simplifying polygon data and reducing the number of vertices where appropriate without compromising the boundary and shape of the zones.

Load data from a shapefile or file geodatabase

Note:

This workflow is optional and doesn't need to be completed to work with the solution.

Optionally, you can load existing data into the shelters, critical infrastructure, or pre-established zones datausing the append tools available in ArcGIS Online.

To load data from a shapefile or file geodatabase, complete the following steps:

1. Create a .zip file of your shelter shapefile or file geodatabase.
2. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Resources feature layer.
3. From the item page, select the Shelters sublayer.
4. From the item page, click Update Data.
5. Follow the steps in the Update data wizard to load your data.

Tip:

For more information about uploading data, see Manage hosted feature layers—Append data to layers.

Tip:

For more information about how to load data using the Append tool in ArcGIS Pro, see Append (Data Management).

6. Repeat these steps to load pre-established zones into the NoticesAndEvacuations layer and load facilities into the CriticalInfrastructure layer.

Enable pre-established coastal zones

Note:

This workflow is only required for organizations who want to use pre-established coastal zones throughout the solution.

In coastal and flood-prone communities, pre-established coastal zones often follow a Zone A through Zone F categorization, with unique colors indicating the highest-to-lowest risk of storm surge or flooding. The solution includes a layer view using this symbology that can be used when these zones are loaded into the NoticesAndEvacuations layer.

To enable zones to be visualized in your public information map, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser window, open the item details for the Public Information map and Open in Map Viewer.
2. Turn on visibility using the Show Layer button next to the Know Your Zone layer and save the web map.
3. Repeat the above steps for the Incident Status Dashboard web map.

Tip:

When using pre-established coastal zones in you map, you may want to optimize drawing of complex lines and polygons and publish hosted tiles from hosted features on the Notices and Evacutions_KnowYourZone layer view if you anticipate a large demand on the app.

Configure emergency management maps

Note:

This workflow is optional and doesn't need to be completed to work with the solution.

Optionally, the Emergency Management Operations solution can be extended, modified, or optimized to meet the needs of your organization.

To configure emergency management maps, complete the following steps:

• Add your layers to maps and apps—You can add your authoritative layers to the maps and apps in the solution. For example, you may have other layers you'd like to edit or visualize and summarize to help you, map the incident and understand impact, in the Emergency Information Manager app. To do this, add the layer to the web map, configure the layer and configure the Edit widget or configure the Near Me widget.
• Add Living Atlas content— You can add layers from the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, the foremost collection of geographic information from around the globe. It includes several live feed layers that can help emergency managers understand up-to-date information related to weather, incident, and emergency information. Learn more about adding ArcGIS Living Atlas layers to the web maps. The table lists some of the popular ArcGIS Living Atlas layers that may be applicable to use with this solution:

  Name	Source
  USA Weather Watches and Warnings	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service
  Current Weather and Wind Station Data	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service
  Recent Earthquakes	United States Geological Survey
  Active Hurricanes	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service
  USA Current Wildfires	Integrated Reporting of Wildland-Fire Information (IRWIN)
  Satellite (MODIS) Thermal Hotspots and Fire Activity	NASA
  Stream Gauges	Esri

  Note:

  Learn more about public safety specific ArcGIS Living Atlas live feed layers.

Share road closures with Esri Community Maps

Note:

This workflow is optional and doesn't need to be completed to work with the solution.

Sharing road closures with the public can improve public safety because it alerts residents to potential hazards that may require them to slow down or take a different route. However, most residents use consumer mapping applications to navigate throughout a community and, unfortunately, do not look to local government websites for authoritative closure information. Governments would like to share authoritative closure information with consumer mapping applications to ensure that real-time closure information is available to residents, commuters, and travelers on devices they use every day to navigate through their community.

Governments can deploy the Emergency Management Operations or Road Closures solution and use it to map closures in their community that may be caused by construction activity, special events, and emergency incidents. When your organization is ready to share road closures with residents, commuters, and travelers, you can join Esri Community Maps and share your road closure information with Esri. Esri Community Maps regularly aggregates each participating organization's road closure data into a single road closure layer and then shares the aggregated closure information with consumer mapping partners participating in the program.

Joining Esri Community Maps and sharing your Emergency Management Operations solution road closure data gives residents in your community access to this information on the devices and applications they typically use.

To share your road closure information with Esri Community Maps, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization.
2. Browse to your RoadClosures_public layer and open the item page.

   Note:

   You must share the RoadClosures_public layer and populate all the required fields in the Closures layer to participate in Esri Community Maps.

3. Scroll to the Credits section and click Edit.
4. Type the name of your organization as you would like it to appear in the Community Maps Road Closures layer citation.
5. Click Save.
6. Share the layer with Everyone.
7. In a separate browser tab, go to the Esri Community Maps website, click Share Data, and follow the steps to join the community.

   When you share your road closure information with Esri Community Maps, new road closures added by your community will be aggregated into a single layer shared with consumer mapping partners every fifteen minutes.

8. Optionally, enable ArcGIS Open Data and configure your Open Data site.

   License:

   Open Data is a capability of ArcGIS Online.

9. Share your RoadClosures_public layer with your Open Data group.

Note:

When you deploy the Emergency Management Operations solution and the Road Closures solution and both solutions are owned by the same user, the Road Closure layers are shared between both solutions. This allows the road closure information status to be updated using the Emergency Information Manager app. The updates are visible in Emergency Management Operations solution and the Road Closures solution. Learn more about Road Closures workflows in the Road Closures FAQ.