Google Crisis Map

I have been viewing Google Crisis Maps for several years now as it is a powerful tool bringing information from many agency resources into one map virtually real-time. Check out the video below for a brief explanation…

While the video is informative, it really doesn’t do this solution justice.

The light bulb to share went off today while checking out Winter Storm Pax. Information relative to this (hopefully and likely minor) event will provide me weather warning/watch information, current weather, power outages, road conditions, shelter locations, power-grid assessment (if needed), and more.

From Super Storm Sandy. If you were to zoom in on this map during the event, you have seen where the flooding was, power outages, shelter locations and even power plant information.

The layers of information provided in the map obviously vary by crisis type. Disaster information on Floods, Hurricanes, Tornados, Storms, Wildfires, Earth Quakes, and more are available on both your desktop and smartphone.

And with most cellphone carriers hardening their networks and having at least temporary backup power in their cell sites, you should be able to access even in a power outage.

More information about the maps can be found directly from Google HERE.

Link to the crisis map: google.org/crisismap