Portland (part of Multnomah County). Click for live map.
On April 27, 2009, HumaniNet’s Maps 2.0 team supported a major disaster response exercise in Multnomah County (Portland), Oregon, by posting essential exercise information on a Web-based online map. HumaniNet also provided assistance with satellite communications in the multiagency exercise, augmenting landline and radio communications among participants in northwest Oregon.
The mapping and communications events were the first in a series of simulations this year under the exercise name Cascadia Peril, which utilized a scenario of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake followed by a coastal tsunami.
The initial phase, planned and led by the Multnomah County Office of Emergency Management (MCEM), focused on hospital reporting to the emergency coordination center (ECC) and mapping of events and field reports of affected transportation infrastructure, such as damaged bridges and overpasses.
The HumaniNet Maps 2.0 team worked closely with MCEM in posting time-critical information on Google Earth and Google Maps. The online map was accessible through the exercise at the HumaniNet home page, www.humaninet.org, enabling participants and all interested citizens to observe the exercise activity on a dynamic map.
The Maps 2.0 team is formed primarily of volunteers who are trained in map-based data entry and who are committed to support humanitarian and emergency response field teams.
The Maps 2.0 planning for the Cascadia Peril exercise built on the experience of the HumaniNet team in support of Exercise Talom in Thailand in November 2008 (see blog post below).
