WITHIN THE next few months, people facing the hazards of a possible mass evacuation in the midst of a major disaster will be able to access information from the Internet outlining the best possible plans of action for their particular area.
This news came in the wake of the announcement that the ODPEM had acquired a Geographical Information System (GIS) during a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, on Wednesday.
The GIS, computer hardware and network infrastructure will cost $10 million. The GIS - which uses locational data - will assist the agency to handle complex disaster management issues in the face of serious concerns over the rapid growth of population centres and chronic congestion, especially in the Corporate Area and Portmore.
The project was made possible through the Government's Y2K Remedial Initiative, and was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank.
Minister of Water and Housing Karl Blythe explained the functions on the newly-acquired technology.
"The GIS has the capability of capturing, storing, manipulating and analysing special data, and the network which allows for wide area connectivity."
"This will address some issues, allowing for more effective evacuating planning in the main population centres, and the zoning of high risk areas for hazards such as drought, flooding, landslides and storm surges," Minister Blythe said.
"Today is critical as we recognise that information is power, and it is critical that we put ourselves in the position to not only gather it, but to use it well and transmit it to others so that they too can be performers."
The general public will eventually be able to benefit directly from the GIS through its Arc Internet Mapping System module which will allow them to access maps and data showing shelters, and critical facilities.
"They will also be able to perform other basic enquiries," the Minister said.
Other government entities such as the NRCA, National Irrigation Commission and Water Resources Authority already utilise this innovative tool.
"This will increase the sharing of date leading to the overall reduction in the cost of development of data-bases."
President of the Spatial Innovision Ltd. Silburn Clarke explained the GIS' usefulness in sound disaster management.
"The GIS can help the ODPEM to make plans before a disaster by providing info on the location of fault lines, potential storm surges, hurricane patterns and topography etc., and during disasters, it can help the ODPEM by providing the best routes for evacuation," he said.
"And in the aftermath of the disaster, it can show how best to house, and rehabilitate persons back to the affected sites, and can locate new communities, and show how to rebuild. The GIS will bring precision and a good decision-making quality to the operations of the ODPEM," added Mr. Clarke who had served in the public sector for 22 years.
