Development of a Web GI System for Disaster Management

Sammanfattning: Spatial data is an important and necessary ingredient in the disaster management cycle. The preparedness phase requires simulation of disastrous events, identification of disaster management hotspots and creation of hazard- and risk maps. A rapid response in the event of a disaster requires good situational awareness and fast sharing of that knowledge across the community. Further, in the recovery phase, conclusions drawn from evaluating impacts from past events through analysing spatial data can be used to prevent reconstruction of risk prone infrastructure and also prevent repopulation of hazardous areas. In the 90’s, a new awareness of global climate change and hazards linked to this phenomenon, gave GIS a new role in disaster management and risk assessment. Web based systems gained quickly in popularity due to the simplicity and accessibility of the services. This rapid evolvement of GI web services and web GIS in the context of disaster management, has offered a plethora of possibilities for system development for this specific use. A robust and dynamic GI system for disaster management and risk assessment requires dynamic data distribution, a meaningful visual representation of that data to the end user and tools for spatial processing to be integrated into the system. The functionality of the system should also be adjusted to the specific needs of the stakeholders and decision makers involved in the disaster management activities for which the system is intended. The aim of this thesis is to develop a web GIS based on a set of requirements expressed by WHO Regional Office for Europe. The system aims at being highly interactive, interoperable and accessible through implementing OGC compliant web services and using modern open source techniques for web mapping. The system uses a combination of client-side and server-side spatial processes to create interactivity for end users and offers enhanced accessibility of metadata through a REST API built on top of GeoServer, as a compliment to OGC services. The system development is a part of the Web GIS for Risk Assessment (WGRAS) project at the Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science at Lund University. A first version of the system was presented for the member countries of WHO Europe in Yerevan in Armenia, at a workshop for GIS for risk assessment and disaster management, the 2nd of December 2015.