Slashgeo

GIS Monitor is running a story about the role of GIS volunteers regarding events tied to hurricane Katrina. From the article: «For Brooks, perhaps the most important lesson regarding GIS from this experience is that "it must be a part of the plan before the disaster happens, because it became a pretty key element and has grown since." ».

GISMonitor has two interviews regarding Katrina Relief. The first one about imagery for the Katrina relief effort with San Diego State University's Eric Frost. The second one is about the Red Cross uses of GIS in Katrina relief with Greg Tune of the American Red Cross. From the latter: "The hardest part is real-time data; in many instances, I don't know, for example, that the Corps of Engineers has created real-time data and I only find out in an after-action meeting."

The JAGIS-L mailing list points to a CNN article about geographers and hurricane Katrina's relief. GIS Corps has been mentioned here before. From the article: "Elhami, co-founder of GISCorps, said that since 2004, the organization's volunteers have responded to disasters such as the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, as well as efforts to provide humanitarian relief, sustainable development, economic development, health, and education in all parts of the world. The Corps had 20 volunteers on the ground in Mississippi less than 48 hours after Katrina's landfall."

GeoPlace host an article about lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina by the GISCorps. From the article's conclusion: "As a volunteer organization, affiliation with GISCorps provided a neutral venue for efficient service delivery with transparency to inevitable politics. Of the many lessons learned by Katrina GISCorps volunteers, perhaps the most important is the need to establish geospatial technology resources as a core functional component in every local emergency operations plan in the United States."

The Ubikcan blog links to a New Scientist article about a Radarsat study showing New Orleans sinking. From the New Scientist: "The image, generated from radar satellite data, shows some areas of the city - devastated by the floods caused by Hurricane Katrina - are sinking by more than 20 millimetres per year. In some areas, this lowering could explain some of the levee breaching that occurred during the hurricane, the researchers say."

greg writes "NOLA has a nice flash animation map that details the flooding of New Orleans."

All Points Blog links to a ComputerWorld article on IT and GIS in the reconstruction of New Orleans in the post-Katrina era. From the article: "The GIS data, which can be accessed from a Web-based user interface, lets city officials easily see where reconstruction activity is the strongest, based on factors such as the number of building permits being issued, Kurt said. He added that workers can also view information about the number of calls for city services, such as requests for street maintenance -- which gives them an indication of where people are living."

An online, user-friendly map that tracks flood conditions has been developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

As expected rains drive flood waters higher along the Mississippi River Valley, USGS crews are in the field collecting data needed to update the flood maps, prepare forecasts, manage the flood and warn communities.

This new system is part of the USGS WaterWatch suite of web-based streamflow products and can be accessed at the Map of flood and high flow conditions Web site.

Read the entire story at www.geocomm.com.