Mapping Storm Damage Data Submitted from Multiple Sources
This was a two-part project used for academic work based on a need to modernize the way National Weather Service gathers storm report data from the field. This type of approach could be used to submit reports from a smartphone and from there enter the current workflow. I would like to acknowledge Ashley Sears from NWS Upton, NY for her assistance with understanding the current process and giving feedback during the project.
Prototyping a Smartphone Application for Submitting Storm Damage Data to NWS
The first part of the project consisted of outlining a process for submitting storm report data from the field using smartphones. The various sensors in a smartphone, including GPS, can provide valuable information in locating storm damage. One of the byproducts of this is the ability to submit video and images with the report data since most phones have cameras on them. This project shows the prototyping phase of a GIS-powered project.
|
| ||
Demonstrating a Web Application for Mapping Storm Damage Reports Using Cloud-Based Servers
The second part of the project was to demonstrate that storm reports that are submitted from a web form would be able to be mapped on a staging server using Open Source software. For the project, I used an Amazon EC2 instance to build a Microsoft Windows Server with Microsoft's IIS. PostgreSQL was used for the database with PostGIS, Open Layers, and GeoExplorer for processing geospatial data and mapping that data. The video below shows the project in more detail including a demonstration of the cloud-hosted map interface. This interface uses Google Maps API on the front end, but other open source mapping such as Leaflet could be used in its place.
|
|
Click to see this image full-screen.
|