Infrastructure Management Information System Framework for Disasters

Abstract

Three-tiered enterprise GIS architecture offers a robust, efficient, and secure mechanism as a potential revolution to disaster management systems. This paper addresses the severe limitations of existing disaster management systems and proposes an integrated management information system as an alternative. The value of such a 3-tiered enterprise GIS is its ability to function as reliable and efficient system during a disaster. Issues related to data storage, handling, timely distribution of processing power, efficient retrieval and dissemination of information, and data security against unauthorized access have to addressed using the state-of-the-art technology. Recent advancements in (1) standardized data specification, (2) middleware services, and (3) web-enabled distributed computing provide key resources to design and implement a tool of unprecedented flexibility and capacity for disaster management. This paper presents the critical details of such a system.