In the aftermath of Hurricanes’ Katrina and Rita, it was clear that State emergency responders lacked current, accurate, and comprehensive critical infrastructure data, needed to perform their tasks. Specifically, they lacked the location and operational status of our utility and communications infrastructure. Four months later, that information is only partially available to those involved in Louisiana’s long–term recovery efforts.
The Louisiana Geographic Data Center (LAGIC), the State’s primary point of contact for geospatial information, plans to improve Louisiana’s geospatial preparedness by conducting a series of workshops with emergency responders to identify operational requirements for infrastructure data. LAGIC will identify methods of improving data coordination, distribution, and exchange of these critical geospatial resources. The workshops and geospatial data surveys will focus on the following goals:
1. Determining the infrastructure needs of our emergency responders,
2. Documenting the spatial accuracy and attributes of existing infrastructure data,
3. Creating an online inventory of these critical geospatial data sets, with appropriate safeguards to protect confidentiality, contracted licensing agreements and information deemed sensitive by federal and state officials, and
4. Devising a plan for the distribution, and exchange of this data that meets the needs of emergency responders and the concerns of private industry.
Final Report -- Strategic Plan
Louisiana Geographic Information Center
Contact:
Craig Johnson, Director Louisiana Geographic Information
Center
(225)578-3479
cjohnson@lsu.edu
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