The Role of GIS in the Response to the Terrorist Attacks of September 11 in New York City

Abstract

ニューヨークでのテロ事件後GISが使われた主な目的はオーバレイ機能による迅速な状況把握、救援作業のサポートまた二次災害防止、3次元データによる視覚化・容積解析、及びプルーム・モデルによる空間解析の四つの点に集約される。ニューヨークで使用されたGIS分析の殆どはオーバレイ機能であった。有効にオーバレイ機能を行うには、充実した基図が整備されている事が必須条件である。

The primary goals of emergency management activities are to protect life, property, andthe environment. Having the right data at the right time presented logically is critical inresponding effectively to natural and human-generated hazards and taking appropriateactions. Most of the data required for emergency management are of a spatial natureand GIS provides a framework in which critical information can be gathered, centralized, synthesized, visualized, and shared. This paper describes the critical rolethat geographic data and GIS played in the response to the attacks of September 11 inNew York City. Although the processes that generate the disaster might be differentdepending on the type of hazard (natural as well as man-made), the techniques to assessrisk, evaluate damage, and assist response have much in common and can share andbenefit from the lessons learned in New York City.