49 Keeping Communities Safe In its evaluation of Scott County’s performance during the exercise, a FEMA evaluator noted the county’s use of GIS displays positioned in the EOC showing critical information updated in near real time. “This was an extremely valuable tool to allow EOC staff to quickly view key information related to the emergency and is a best practice,” the evaluator wrote. “I have seen many EOCs use GIS products. However, the integration of multiple data sources with displays of the zones that are updated in near real time sets Scott County apart from other EOCs that I have evaluated over the past several years.” An inundation map in the Situational Awareness Experience shows county staff where flooding might encroach on properties depending on how high the river’s water level rises. Bringing Emergency Management and GIS Together Weiser, Scott County’s GIS manager, attributed the county’s preparation advancements to the trust and cooperation that have grown over the years between the Emergency Management Agency and the GIS team. “Everything you see today really grows out of this repeated interaction and participation in these exercises,” he said. “They’re expressing needs, and we’re asking questions, and they’re asking questions, and it’s just an iterative process where every time we get together, we learn, and it results in better preparation.”
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