TNRIS begins development on the next version of GEMSS

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The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) has awarded the Texas Natural Resources Information System (TNRIS) a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) grant to continue development on the next version of the Geospatial Emergency Management Support System (GEMSS). The HMGP funding was made available following Hurricane Ike which hit the Texas coast in 2009 causing environmental, economic and social damage to the area.

GEMSS is a unique online mapping system first released in December, 2008 to support emergency management and mitigation functions by providing capabilities such as:

• Collection, storage, and access to current and historical geospatial data
• Real time situational awareness from live feeds of geospatial web services
• Platform independent web-based mapping services for use by authorized users
• Customizable data elements to allow users to create or import their own data

Under the new grant, new functionality, security, and data control enhancements will be implemented including:

• Data Threshold Notification System for specific databases that self-monitor their critical thresholds and then report back to the GEMSS system when these parameters fall out of the normal values. (ie. Flood gauges that report flooding events in real-time)
• Spatial processing features to allow for a more robust spatial selection process such as buffering and polygon overlay selection capabilities.
• Advanced import and export capabilities for user data to allow for batch importing of multiple feature points including geocode and reverse geocode data points and addresses.
• Communication and Data Sharing Capabilities that integrate simple messaging services to communicate in real-time with other GEMSS users through a secure channel that is tracked and logged by the GEMSS system. Users will be able to track relevant twitter feeds as well as access flickr images directly in GEMSS.
• Mobile Application development that allows GEMSS to be accessed from mobile devices. These mobile devices can also be used to collect information and seamlessly upload them to the GEMSS system.
• Enhanced layer level security to restrict access of secure information to specific individuals and roles only.
• Improved user interface

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.