OGC hosts disaster preparedness workshop

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is hosting the second Disasters Concept Development Study Workshop July 24-25 at the NOAA Auditorium in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Organized by OGC, the workshop is sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Geographic Data Committee, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other government agencies.

The workshop is part of the OGC’s Disaster Concept Development Study, and will shape future activities to be led by OGC regarding disaster preparedness and response, and to inform development of potential disaster spatial data infrastructures (SDI).

According to NOAA, in 2017 in the United States there were 16 major natural disasters with costs that exceeded 306 billion dollars, shattering previous annual records.

The workshop asks whether more lives can be saved and damages reduced by providing better discovery and access to data that will improve mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery from disasters.

The ability to effectively share, use and reuse geospatial information and applications across and between governments and non-government organizations in support of disaster response and resilience depends on having a spatial data infrastructure in place when disaster strikes.

The OGC is bringing together key stakeholders in the natural hazards disaster communities to advance the emerging Disaster SDI by conducting a study and developing a set of pilots over the coming years. OGC’s Disasters Interoperability Concept Development Study (CDS) will assess the current state of data and product exchange technologies as used in disaster planning, response, and recovery. The information gained in the CDS will aid in developing a series of future pilots that will in turn advance the state of SDIs that support disaster risk reduction across the globe.

For more information on the Disasters Concept Development Study, visit the website or email tidol@opengeospatial.org.

For more information on the Disasters CDS Workshop, including the agenda and how to register, visit the event page on the OGC website. Registration for the workshop is free but mandatory.