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IDGA Joint SAR Conference Tyson’s Corner, Virginia 22-24 Sep 2008

IDGA Joint SAR Conference Tyson’s Corner, Virginia 22-24 Sep 2008. Georeferencing for SAR Responders in Catastrophic Incidents. Rick Button Secretary National Search and Rescue Committee (www.uscg.mil/nsarc). Agenda Catastrophic Incident SAR

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IDGA Joint SAR Conference Tyson’s Corner, Virginia 22-24 Sep 2008

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  1. IDGA Joint SAR Conference Tyson’s Corner, Virginia 22-24 Sep 2008 Georeferencing for SAR Responders in Catastrophic Incidents Rick Button SecretaryNational Search and Rescue Committee (www.uscg.mil/nsarc)

  2. Agenda Catastrophic Incident SAR Georeferencing through the lens of Hurricane Katrina Georeferencing Matrix

  3. United States: 3 Primary SAR Documents • (NSARC) National SAR Plan (2007) • (NSARC) National SAR Supplement • (DHS/FEMA) National Response Framework

  4. National Response Framework (NRF) http://www.fema.gov/nrf • Federal govt plan for responding to disasters andCatastrophic Incidents

  5. National Response Framework (NRF) http://www.fema.gov/nrf The NRF’s basic premise: All-hazards, tiered response

  6. What is a Catastrophic Incident? NRF: “A catastrophic incident is defined as any natural or manmade incident, including terrorism, that results in extraordinary levels of mass causalities, damage, or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, and/or government functions.” (NRF, pg 42)

  7. Catastrophic Incident SAR

  8. Catastrophic Incident SAR Addendum • Developed by NSARC: NPS, Coast Guard, FEMA and DOD SAR responders • CIS Addendum created to provide basic, interagency guidance to federal SAR responders

  9. Catastrophic Incident SAR Georeferencing Georeferencing during aCatastrophic Incident

  10. Framing the Issue: Georeferencing through the lens of Hurricane Katrina

  11. Katrina SAR Responders: 3 Georeferencing Issues • How do SAR Responders navigate when landmarks, such as street signs, are destroyed? • How do SAR Responders communicate position in a common language? • (ref: Talbot Brooks, Importance of USNG and Land Navigation [article on-line]; available from: http://mississippi.deltastate.edu.)

  12. Katrina SAR Responders: 3 Georeferencing Issues Resource deconfliction: multiple SAR responders & resources working in a common operating area

  13. Katrina: Communicating Location - Problems • Local knowledge • Limited knowledge of U.S. National Grid • Lat/Long stated three different ways: • DD.d • DD-MM-SS • DD-MM.mm

  14. Katrina: Communicating Location - Problems • Lat/Long: • Just how far away is 1 minute of Longitude? • Very difficult to determine position on paper map to within 10 meters of accuracy. • GPS: • Can be difficult for SAR responders to use in an urban environment, heavy weather, etc. (I’m not saying don’t bring it…) • Will every SAR responder have a GPS receiver?

  15. Katrina: Communicating Location - Problems • Example: Hurricane Katrina • Mississippi Delta K-9 SAR Unit • Sent from Jackson, MS to Hancock County, 40 miles east of New Orleans. • Could not find the area to be searched because no street signs were left standing. • Other local rescuers had to use cell phones to direct the K-9 unit to the right spot!

  16. CIS Georeferencing Matrix: Because urban, aeronautical, maritime and land-based SAR responders each have unique georeferencing requirements, NSARC created a matrix to explain the various systems that will be used.

  17. NSARC Georeferencing Matrix: Catastrophic Incident SAR

  18. NSARC Georeferencing Matrix: “The Footnotes” Lat/Long: During CIS operations, Lat/Long will be in one standard format: DD-MM.mmm. Land SAR Responders: use USNG; however, familiarity with lat/long is necessary to ensure effective interface between Land/Maritime and Air SAR Responders.

  19. NSARC CIS Georeferencing Matrix: “The Footnotes” Air SAR Responders: Lat/Long Air space deconfliction: Lat/Long. Air/Land Interface: Air SAR Responders working with Land SAR Responders have primary responsibility of coordinating SAR using USNG (Both need to know USNG and Lat/Long.). GARS (Global Area Reference System): Used for situational awareness.

  20. Assumptions used to develop the Matrix

  21. Assumption #1: In Catastrophic Incidents, no single map/chart projection or coordinate/grid system will be perfect for all SAR applications. (Urban, Land, Aeronautical and Maritime)

  22. Assumption #2:Matrix is for NSARC SAR Responders • NSARC won’t impose georeferencing standards on volunteer, local, or State SAR Responders; however: • States need to be aware of what to expect when a Catastrophic Incident is declared and NSARC member agencies assist in SAR operations.

  23. Assumption #3: Georeferencing Matrix will be implemented when a Catastrophic Incident occurs.(Catastrophic Incident Search and Rescue Addendum) www.uscg.mil/nsarc

  24. Assumption #4: Effective interface between the Incident Command, and Land (or maritime)/Air SAR responders is vital to a successful CIS response.

  25. Lat/Long, USNG and GARS

  26. Latitude/Longitude ~ Keeping it simple ~Catastrophic Incident SAR “Latitude and Longitude” describes what a SAR responder will use on a standard chart or map and what is displayed in a GPS receiver.

  27. United States National Grid (USNG): • Ground-based grid coordinate system based on Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) System. • Basic unit of measure is the meter; positions reported as distance north from equator and distance from the zone central meridian. • Purpose: provide a seamless, standardized ref system for nationwide use during times of crisis. • (Talbot Brooks, US National Grid [article online]; http://mississippi.deltastate.edu/)

  28. United States National Grid (USNG) • USNG is the U.S. civil standard (FGDC-STD-011-2001) www.fgdc.gov • Functionally equivalent to the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS)

  29. United States National Grid (USNG) • Being adopted by several States as their standard system. • Many types of GPS receivers are now being manufactured with the ability to transition between USNG and Lat/Long.

  30. Global Area Reference System (GARS) • Worldwide area reference system; • Used for unit deconfliction as well as for large-area SAR efforts;

  31. Global Area Reference System (GARS) • GARS divides the world into 30-min by 30-min cells and further subdivides those cells into 15-min by 15-min quadrants that are further subdivided into 5- min by 5-min cells. • GARS is an overlay area reference system based on standard Latitude/Longitude. • Proposal to further subdivide GARS into 1-min by 1-min quadrants to further facilitate SAR ops.

  32. Summary • Federal SAR responders in Catastrophic Incidents need to have a good understanding of Lat/Long, USNG and GARS. USNG is the national standard. • Federal SAR responders need to have a good familiarization with the CIS Addendum and the Georeferencing section in particular.

  33. Summary • Several states (Texas, Lousiana) are adopting the CIS Addendum into their State emergency plans. • USNG and GARS background information: • Nat’l SAR Committee website: www.uscg.mil/nsarc • Delta State University Website: http://mississippi.deltastate.edu/ • Federal Geographic Data Committee website: www.fgdc.gov

  34. Implementation and Marketing Ongoing… www.uscg.mil/nsarc

  35. Questions?

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