Meet Aurora Foo: when a natural disaster strikes, she’s helping the helpers. Her job is assisting situation rooms and command centres around the country!
Aurora uses maps to save lives. Credit: Aurora Foo
Springing into action
Incident command centres are often full of big screens showing maps of the impacted area. As a Senior Geospatial Analyst, Aurora can add important information these maps. This helps the command centre to analyse a natural disaster’s behaviour and forecast what will happen next. And that information helps make sure emergency responders go to the right places.
Command centres act as ‘brains’ for emergencies. The eyes and ears for this brain are the first responders. These brave people are out in the field, finding out the what, where, when, who, why and how of a natural disaster.
Then the brain springs into action. For example, detailed what and where information – like a large bushfire in the Namadgi National Park – can help the team predict when it might reach nearby houses. Then the team can decide what kind of emergency response is needed – in this case, whether to send in fire trucks, helicopters or waterbombers.
Mapping the way forward
In addition to maps that show geographical features like mountains and valleys, Aurora supplies information about the people living nearby. This helps the agencies on the ground answer who might be affected. For example, are they experienced with cyclones? Are there many older people, or young children? Answering these questions helps the team send out emergency responders to help keep people safe.
All the heroics in the command centre depend on huge amounts of place-based information. Luckily, most of it can be gathered long before a natural disaster strikes. Mapping officers go out with iPads and make detailed maps on the ground. They also use satellite data gathered from space. This includes new Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites that can see through clouds and can even make maps at night!
The Gold Coast Local Disaster Coordination Centre brings geospatial experts together to combat natural disasters. Credit: Aurora Foo
If you’re keen on using mapping technology to save lives, good news! Aurora says that you’re already practicing the “location intelligence” required just by using maps in your everyday life. “Being able to look at a map and understand where you’re looking at, who it impacts, and why you need that information is the first step to becoming a geospatial officer!”
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